Chapter 365 -: 364 Who are they?

Chapter 365: Chapter: 364 Who are they?

Julius’s eyes fluttered open.

For a few moments, everything before him was nothing more than a blur. His vision was unfocused, his mind still sluggish from whatever had happened inside the vision, and it took him several seconds to even realize that there were people standing around him.

Several faces were hovering dangerously close to his own.

They looked almost like balloons from this distance, their features distorted by his blurry vision as their eyes stared directly at him with a mixture of curiosity, anxiety, and impatience.

Julius blinked several times, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, before one of those faces immediately became recognizable.

Rosalina.

Her eyes were misty, as though she had been desperately holding back tears, and the moment their gazes met, her expression changed completely.

"Julius!"

She exclaimed his name and immediately threw herself at him.

Julius barely had enough time to react before her entire body crashed against him. She had apparently forgotten to consider how much force she was using, and her full body weight landed on him like a small mountain. Every injured part of Julius’s body screamed in protest, and his face twisted as pain shot through him.

"Ugh..."

Before he could even complain, Rosalina began showering him with affection. She kissed his face repeatedly, hugged him tightly, and, for some inexplicable reason, even started licking him as though he were some kind of pet she had been separated from for years.

Was she an animal? Julius honestly didn’t know.

He certainly wasn’t going to complain about the affection, especially after seeing the worry in her eyes, but there was one small problem.

His wounds were killing him.

"Rose... my wounds..." His weak protest went completely ignored.

Rosalina continued expressing her happiness at seeing him alive until she finally moved away from his face and began kissing his neck instead. It was only then that Julius could properly see the people standing behind her.

There was a man and a petite girl, the girl looked strangely familiar.

Julius stared at her for several seconds, trying to search through his memories for where he had seen her before. She had lustrous green hair that fell gracefully around her shoulders, and her eyes were the same shade of green.

Her face was exceptionally beautiful, though there was an obvious nervousness in her expression. A faint blush covered her cheeks as she watched Rosalina openly shower Julius with affection, seemingly unsure whether she should look away or continue watching.

Julius shifted his gaze toward the man. He looked familiar too.

In fact, he felt far more familiar than the girl.

The man had pale blond hair and a remarkably handsome face, and there was something about his appearance that immediately tugged at a distant memory in Julius’s mind.

’Where have I seen him before...?’

Julius frowned, trying to force his sluggish brain to work. Then realization struck him.

’Wait. Aren’t we in the Nightmare Forest?’

His mind scrambled as he looked around, trying to connect the pieces together. The last thing he remembered was fighting in the Nightmare Forest, and then there was the vision... Destiny... the memories... Earth... Crypian...

Everything came rushing through his mind at once, but none of it properly connected to his current situation.

Who were these two people?

Julius decided that asking questions was probably better than continuing to stare at everyone like an idiot.

He reached up and gently grabbed Rosalina by the neck, carefully trying to get her attention.

"Rose... stop for a bit," he muttered weakly.

Rosalina finally paused, allowing Julius to breathe properly. He tried to push himself upright, only to discover that moving was considerably more difficult than he had expected.

Rosalina had practically draped her entire body over him, and every attempt he made to shift resulted in another wave of pain spreading through his injuries.

’Did she get fat?’

The thought appeared in Julius’s mind instantly. He wisely decided that he valued his life too much to say it aloud.

Fortunately, Rosalina eventually moved away enough to give him room. Julius slowly sat up and turned toward her, finally getting a proper look at her appearance.

She was still as beautiful as ever, but she had changed drastically from how he remembered her.

Her long black hair was gone.

Well, not exactly gone, but it had become much shorter. Julius had always remembered Rosalina’s hair as being ridiculously long, so long that when she walked, the ends would practically trail along the ground behind her.

Now, however, her hair only reached her neck, and the strands were sharp and neat, almost resembling blades.

Her black eyes remained the same, though they were currently filled with an intensity that Julius couldn’t quite describe.

There was affection in them, along with something warmer and more dangerous that he decided was probably best not to think about while he was still injured.

Her small nose was slightly red, and it twitched every now and then as though she were trying to suppress her emotions. Her full lips repeatedly curved upward and downward, unable to decide whether she wanted to smile or cry.

Julius stared at her for a moment.

He had quite a few thoughts about this new appearance of hers, and some of those thoughts were definitely things he would have preferred to explore under considerably more peaceful circumstances.

Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor the place. Instead, Julius shifted his attention toward the two people standing nearby.

"Who are they?"

Rosalina moved closer to him again, a teasing smile slowly appearing on her lips.

"You didn’t recognize them?"

"Um-hmm."

Julius shook his head.

The man immediately took a few steps forward. His expression became strangely grievous, and he let out a small sigh as though Julius had personally wounded him by forgetting his existence so quickly.

"I didn’t think you would forget me this soon..."

His voice carried an exaggerated sense of disappointment. He then straightened himself and introduced himself.

"I’m Leon."

He gestured toward the petite green-haired girl beside him.

"And she is Sylviana."

The moment those names entered Julius’s ears, his eyes widened, shock and disbelief filled his face.

And then something considerably more dangerous flashed through his eyes.

"Leon? What are you doing here?"

Julius’s mind suddenly became a complete mess as the memories finally connected.

Leon, of course. How could he have forgotten him? But then his gaze shifted toward the green-haired girl.

Sylviana, his expression changed again.

"Wait, Sylviana?"

"That bastard’s girlfriend? Why the hell is she here?!"

The memories of everything that had happened before the Nightmare Forest came rushing back into his mind, and Julius’s thoughts immediately became filled with murderous intent.

"Kill her. Send her head to that bastard.

I want to see the expression on his face when he receives it."

The thought was so immediate and intense that Julius didn’t even bother questioning it. His body reacted before his rational mind could catch up, and he suddenly lunged toward Sylviana.

"Kill her!"

Sylviana’s face went pale. She instinctively flinched and took a step toward Leon, while Leon’s expression became one of complete bewilderment.

Julius, however, had already decided what he wanted to do.

"I want to see that bastard’s face when he—"

He never finished, Rosalina caught him.

She stopped Julius’s charge with surprising ease and, without the slightest hesitation, drove her fist directly into his stomach.

BAM!

"Guh!"

All the air escaped Julius’s lungs at once, and his body bent forward from the impact. His eyes widened as he struggled to breathe, one hand instinctively clutching his stomach.

He slowly turned his head toward Rosalina with an expression of pure confusion.

"What was that for...?"

Rosalina clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, looking thoroughly displeased with him.

"Is this any way to greet your savior?"