Chapter 867 - I'm Not Dreaming, Right?
In a dark world, where no light could be seen, William flew into the endless Abyss.
He was chasing after a young beauty whose red hair fluttered behind her. The Half-Elf was desperately flying towards her, but the large gap between them remained. Even so, he didn't stop.
William felt that if he really gave up on chasing after her, he would never see the young beauty ever again.
"Raizel! Don't go!" William shouted. "Come back to me!"
The girl didn't reply and continued to move farther and farther away from him. In one last ditch effort, William used all of his strength and willpower to increase his speed exponentially. It was at that moment when the distance between them shortened until he was merely three meters away from the girl he was chasing.
"I'm not letting you go anywhere!" William cried out as he reached out his hand to grab the object of his affection. "I won't let you go!"
—-
When William opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a pair of amber-colored eyes looking back at him in a tender gaze.
The Half-Elf didn't even pause to think as he hurriedly hugged the figure in front of him. He held her so tight, that the young beauty felt like her bones were going to break.
Even so, she endured. For she knew that the person who had locked her in a protective embrace was someone that would go to hell and back for her sake.
Raizel wrapped her arms around William's head and patted it gently. She could feel something wet streaming down her back as the Half-Elf held her tight.
"This isn't a dream, right?" William asked with a trace of anxiousness. "I'm not dreaming, right?"
"You're not dreaming," Raizel answered. "I am here with you right now, and I'm very much alive, but I might just kick the bucket if you hug me any tighter, Pa."
William immediately loosened his hold on the young beauty, and used a diagnostic spell to check her current condition.
After seeing that there was nothing wrong with her, he was finally able to sigh in relief as he held her hand.
"What happened?" William inquired. "I was so sure you died. That was the last thing that I remembered before I attacked the cloaked figure. I don't know what happened after that."
Raizel shook her head. "I don't know what happened as well. The last thing I remembered was pushing you away. After that, I felt a brief moment of pain before everything turned dark."
William held the young beauty's hand and gave it a light squeeze. Although he didn't know how she was revived, he was more than happy to hold and talk to Raizel again.
As if waiting for that cue, the door of the room opened and the Amazon Princess arrived carrying a tray of food.
"It's good to see that you're finally awake," Lilith said as she placed the food cart beside the bed. "You've been asleep for two days."
"T-Two days?!" William gasped in shock because he didn't expect that he had been sleeping for such a long time. "Wait! What happened to the cloaked figure?!"
Lilith shook her head as she sat down on the bed and pulled Raizel to her embrace. "When I woke up, only you, Raizel, and Cathy were around. Even the Black Tower had disappeared."
William took a deep breath as he massaged his face with his hands. There were things that he wanted to ask, but he needed to calm himself first, so that he could think properly.
After regaining his composure, he asked Lilith to explain everything that happened while he was unconscious.
"After that cloaked figure sliced Raizel in Half, you confronted it," Lilith explained. "That was the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness. I asked Cathy, but she said that she also lost consciousness just like me.
"When I came to, I and Cathy were lying on top of your body. There were no signs of the cloaked figure as well as the Black Tower. However, something unbelievable happened. A golden portal had appeared in the sky.
"Cathy believed that it could help us all leave this place. The members of the Glory Shelter had already climbed the stairs that led towards the sky and entered the golden portal. Although none of them returned, Raizel said that there was no cause for concern."
William looked at the young beauty that was currently in Lilith's embrace. Clearly, Raizel was loving the care and attention that she was receiving from the Amazon Princess.
"Don't worry. The golden portal will indeed take us all back to our homeworlds and timelines," Raizel said with confidence. "It will last for three more weeks, so Pa, you still have plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what?" William asked.
"Plenty of time to merge with the laws of the Deadlands," Raizel answered. "Right now. The Deadlands will no longer host the wandering souls that tried to defy Life and Death. Without the Black Tower, this place is just another abandoned plane of existence with no future.
"It will be best if you properly learn the laws of this place before you integrate it with your Thousand Beast Domain."
William nodded in understanding. During his battle against Morax, he was only able to learn two of the Laws that governed the Deadlands. Although he wouldn't be able to use them to their full potential when he returned to Hestia, the abilities would still prove useful when facing difficult situations.
"Where is Cathy?" William asked.
As soon as he asked this question, Lilith and Raizel quieted down and both of them had complicated expressions on their faces.
"Cathy is currently resting," Lilith said after a minute had passed. "She said that she would need all the strength she could muster when you woke up."
"Hah? What do you mean?"
"Well… she said that you will become extremely hungry when you wake up and that if we're not careful, you might suck both Raizel and I dry."
William was about to tell the Amazon Princess that she shouldn't believe everything Raizel was saying. However, before he could even do so, he immediately covered his lips with his hand. A strong sense of bloodthirst threatened to take hold of his consciousness.
After feeling relief that Raizel hadn't died, the stone that had been weighing down his heart disappeared completely. This led to his other senses returning to their normal functions, which made the Half-Elf feel an extreme craving for blood.
He was currently a Vampire Progenitor, and his need for blood was stronger than ordinary vampires. Even after switching his Job Class to a different one, the blood thirst still remained and it made William feel very uncomfortable.
"Where is she?" William inquired as he averted his gaze to the two beautiful ladies in front of him. His bloodthirst was so strong that just looking at Lilith and Raizel was enough to give him the urge to bite them.
"She's currently in her room," Lilith replied. "Do you know where it is?"
William nodded and hurriedly left the room. He was afraid that if he stayed a second longer, he would really sink his fangs on the two beauties' tender necks and suck all of their blood.