Chapter 85: Pursuit

Neolan could be seen lying on the ground just outside the area where the sealed rift had once existed. His body was battered, covered in wounds inflicted by Rosy’s scythe, while his blurry eyes remained fixed on Maximus, Kiozo, and Junwoo.

The three of them stared at him with wide eyes as they immediately took out their healing artifacts one after another, attempting to treat his injuries.

Blood continued to seep from his wounds as he struggled to maintain his consciousness.

‘Well, I got away from that bitch. She must be dead by now… Khuk!’ A sharp pain suddenly shot through his heart, replacing the dull thumping sensation he had experienced earlier with something far more unbearable.

‘Damn it! I’m not healing fast enough because of her energy fluctuating in my veins.’ Although he had been trying to expel the external Astrine energy from his body, the process was progressing far too slowly. Even with all three of them using their healing artifacts, his condition was not improving quickly enough.

‘Seems their healing artifacts are only S-rank. It’ll take time. That damn bitch was really strong. If she had unleashed her strongest ability…’ He cut off his thoughts before they could continue any further and turned his attention toward Maximus.

“Hey, bastard…stop healing me with these pesky artifacts and inform the Goddess of Niflheim through my wristwatch about my situation.”

Maximus frowned for a moment and muttered, “I am no bastard you bastard.” But immediately followed his instructions. He carefully lifted Neolan’s limp left hand and held it in front of Neolan’s face, allowing the wristwatch to register his retinal authentication.

Once the verification was complete, Maximus began typing a request while Kiozo and Junwoo continued treating Neolan’s wounds. The moment Maximus finished entering the necessary information, the Goddess of Niflheim appeared above them and spoke, “Emergency measures have been initiated. Scanning of Neolan Ashburn’s body has been completed successfully.”

“No life-threatening condition detected. However, due to the presence of external Astrine energy, Neolan Ashburn requires immediate expulsion treatment.” In an instant, a circular surfboard materialized in front of them through a wrap drive. Space fluctuated around the device as it hovered in place, seemingly waiting for them to transfer Neolan onto its surface.

Understanding what they needed to do, the three immediately withdrew their healing artifacts. Maximus then lifted Neolan from the ground and placed him on the surfboard, which automatically adjusted its shape to accommodate his body.

Neolan glanced at the Goddess of Niflheim before thinking, ‘I need to use the Light Element to heal myself, but I can’t let these three see it. Well, even if they do, they won’t know what it is.’ With that thought, he immediately channeled his remaining spiritual Qi through his Star Elemental Spiritual Root.

Out of the three elements available in the star element itself—Space, Gravity, and Light—he specifically chose Light to begin the healing process and enter his Spiritual Self State.

The process was difficult given his current condition, but he managed to accomplish it. Within the same instant, his body began healing from within as the Light Elemental Qi circulated through his internal pathways.

However, the sudden appearance of an unknown energy caused the Goddess of Niflheim to pause for a moment. Before she could conduct any further analysis, she vanished, and the surfboard immediately activated a holographic barrier around Neolan before initiating its wrap drive.

At that moment, Maximus, Kiozo, and Junwoo spoke their final words to him simultaneously. “Thanks, Neolan. We’re grateful that you didn’t throw us away like the other Nobles would have.” Neolan looked at the three of them and chuckled softly. ‘…Thanks. A genuine thanks. Though it was my own fault, but how many years…’

Before he could continue his thoughts, the surfboard entered the wrap drive, transporting him away from them.

A few minutes later…

Neolan was sitting on a seat inside the Federation space station, his body having recovered to a great extent. Only a few minor scratches remained visible, indicating how effective his healing method had been.

The Goddess of Niflheim had attempted to perform a quick surgery using the robots under her direct command, but Neolan had obviously refused, knowing that the method he was using was far more effective for his current condition.

His gaze shifted toward his hand, which he noticed was still trembling slightly. ‘…I had to take those hits to distract her from everything.’ He recalled the concrete plan he had devised after observing Rosy’s weaknesses during their confrontation.

‘She was a psycho in both my previous life and this one. Her greatest weakness was that she was non-analytical and relied on brute force. She had also underestimated me quite a bit, even after witnessing my abilities.’ After reaching that conclusion, he dismissed his thoughts about Rosy and shifted his attention to the matter at hand.

“Goddess of Niflheim, track down Alice’s current location right now.”

Several blue holographic screens appeared in front of him almost instantly. “Sir Neolan, it appears that Alice Marsona has been kidnapped and taken somewhere beyond the Federation’s reach. There is no trace of her anywhere on Earth or on any previously visited planet where technological infrastructure has been established.”

Neolan turned toward the Goddess of Niflheim, who was still calculating something through her VR glasses. He wasn’t surprised by Alice’s disappearance from the entire world. Instead, the discovery only strengthened his suspicion.

‘It’s definitely that bitch’s handiwork. Damn it! She’s an eleventh-evolution Astrine Blade user. As things stand, only Father or another Noble Family Head could confront her.’ He closed his eyes and began thinking deeply.

‘No matter what, I need to rescue Alice before that bitch of a Pope does something to her. But first, I need to find a way to reach her… Think, Neolan, think.’ He considered several possibilities, even recalling what he knew about the so-called God of Light from his previous life.

Since this situation had never occurred in his previous life, he couldn’t understand why Alice was suddenly being targeted. He had no memory of anything like this happening before the God of Light’s arrival, let alone an incident involving Alice and the Pope.

Just then, a thought struck him, and his eyes snapped open.

‘Wait, can’t I somehow connect to that locket and use the Myriad Paths Formation to reach her?!’