Chapter 311: A Friend, A King, and a Stranger

Leno furrowed his brow and looked at Lidia.

"I’m sorry mom. I wasn’t fast enough."

The Queen laughed maniacally.

"Oh, please. I’ve had this spelled prepared for a while. I’m sure Lidia knows how my power works by now, so I thought I’d make the stakes a bit different for you."

She stood up from her throne and walked towards the group confidently. She walked slowly in front of each person she had tied up on the wooden boards as she explained to Lidia what she had to do.

"You see, I know that I cannot handle you. I am also aware of many stronger beings that exist in this world, like your son here."

She looked Lidia up and down.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, you can easily escape this loop! You know what you have to do!"

"I’ll find that item no problem. No matter how many loops it takes."

"Oh, quiet down. I’m going to tell you where it is! Let’s call it a little, ’welcome back’ gift, shall we?"

"Just shut up and tell me where it is."

"So impatient... very well. I will tell you."

The Queen waved her hand, pointing it to each person laying by their side.

"A friend, a king, and a stranger. Which one’s life matters more to you?"

Lidia’s eyes filled with anger.

"Stop with the damn questions and tell us where you put it!!"

The Queen laughed.

"Oh, but I did tell you. The answer to that question lays within your choice. I have imbued one of these three people with the power to break the time loop. The only way it breaks is if you kill them. You have to guess which one I put it in!!"

Lidia felt like dropping to her knees. In order for them to break the time loop and free themself, they would have to kill Enki, her the emperor of Paria, or an innocent stranger who has nothing to do with their quarrels.

"How do I know you aren’t lying?!"

The Queen raised her shoulders.

"Maybe a few thousand-time loops would answer that for you, if you can afford that kind of time right now."

"Alright, I’ll do just that."

Lidia, Squabee, Sarah, and Leno all meticulously ravaged the entire room, breaking every wall, every chair, every support beam in hopes that one of them would break the loop. However, every single time they were met with the same sound.

Woosh

Then, they would have to start over.

The Queen sat mockingly in her chair, watching the desperation grow on their faces with each loop.

"It hurts my poor feelings that you still can’t seem to believe me. I know it’s hard to believe, but it will bring me much more satisfaction seeing you pick an answer rather than lie to you."

After a few weeks of desperate never-ending loops, they had finally gone through every possible item the queen could have stored her power, which meant she was never lying to them. It truly was residing inside of one of these three people.

"Finally made up your mind? Oh, I can’t wait to see what you choose!"

She pointed her finger at Enki.

"The man who helped you escape my wrath to begin with, no doubt a very close friend to you all. I’m sure he made you plenty of trinkets as well! I don’t know about you, but I he would be a high priority if I were in your position."

She waved her hand to Pelo.

"Emperor of Paria Empire. Your father-in-law, correct? I’m not sure how close you all are, but I’m most positive your husband wouldn’t be too happy seeing him gone. He would make for a great option, no?"

Lastly, she waved over to the hollow-looking woman.

"And lastly but most certainly not least, we have the innocent bystander. Sure, you could kill her to remove your options, throw her life away, but what kind of person would that make you all? Oh! How silly of me! Did I forget to mention she’s a mother of two brats? My, it would be so sad for them to grow up without any parent supporting them."

Lidia wanted to scream. There wasn’t a single option standing out to her. Every single one made her hesitate. The Queen was right about the innocent bystander. Lidia was initially going to go after her, but hearing about her kids made her hesitate.

The pressure was mounting on Lidia’s shoulders every second. Squebee began to cry quietly to herself. She yanked on Lidia’s sleeve after wiping her eyes.

"Just... go with what you think is best. We won’t be mad at you, Lidia. None of us would be able to decide."

Lidia looked over at Leno, even more conflicted.

"Grandfather looks just like dad."

Lidia’s eyes widened. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t bring herself to decide. The Queen perked up on her throne.

"Oh! I know why you are hesitating!"

She reached into her robe and pulled out a thin, sharp dagger before tossing it on the ground right in front of Lidia.

"You can use that to kill them! It will be much cleaner and faster!"

Lidia slowly bent over and picked up the knife, studying its surface.

Pops continued chuckling to himself while scratching at his face, watching them think over their choice.

After three long, agonizing moments, Lidia finally took her first step. She walked over towards the innocent woman whose lifeless eyes watched her face as she laid on the ground. The knife shook in Lidia’s hand the closer she got. Lidia cursed to herself multiple times before bending over slowly and holding the knife against the woman’s throat.

Suddenly, small tears escaped from her eyes while her mouth twitched. Lidia clenched her teeth trying to ignore her. She started hyperventilating as she prepared to shove the knife into her flesh.

"Do...do..."

The young woman moved her mouth, hardly any sound escaping from it."

Tears began filling Lidia’s eyes.

"Do...it."

The woman lifted her hand and placed it around the knife.

"Please..."

Lidia cursed again.

"ARGH!!"

After screaming to herself, she drove the knife through the woman’s neck. Her skin grew more pale as blood escaped from the wound.

Lidia collapsed on her knees, crying softly to herself. However, Leno immediately sprung after the Queen and her Jester, slicing their torsos in half with nothing but his hands.

Woosh

Lidia was still sitting on her knees, tears falling down her face. Her sorrowful expression slowly being transformed into one of horror. She had killed the woman, but the loop wasn’t broken. She had chosen the wrong one.

The Queen laughed hysterically.

"That was AMAZING my precious Lidia! You put on such a good performance too! It’s too bad that you chose wrong. I thought it would be obvious that I wouldn’t choose her! Of course, you just couldn’t bring yourself to kill who was close to you, huh?"

Lidia looked at the Queen, her emotions completely broken. Leno walked up to her and hugged her tightly.

"Mother. Please allow me to choose the next one. I can’t see you go through this anymore."

Lidia didn’t move or speak. Her gaze was fixed on the Queen, her eyes brimming with a dark insatiable malice. Leno slowly bent down and grabbed the bloodied knife from her hand.

"Be ready, mother. This will all be over soon."

Leno slowly walked over to the two men lying next to each other. He looked down at his grandfather with pity before lowering the knife to his neck.

"I’m sorry, grandpa. My father would be proud that you’ve survived the calamity this long."

Lidia winced hearing the small slit of the knife enter his neck. The Queen stood out of her throne, preparing to attack. However, Leno was already behind her with the freshly painted knife. It slashed through her heart with ease, dropping her body in seconds. Pops followed up with an attack of his own, aimed after Lidia.

Leno grabbed his neck before he could jump away and snapped it in his grasp.

Woosh

The Queen laughed harder than ever, tears rolling down her face.

"Oh, my! This is the greatest day of my life! Who knew that revenge could be so amazing! I will day the happiest I’ve ever been today!"

Pops danced around and clapped his hands.

"Two wrong guesses! Two wrong guesses! You just killed everyone for nothing! HAHAHA!"

Leno walked over to Enki hastly.

"I am growing quite tired of these people. I promise I will give this man a good burial."

As he tried to throw the knife into Enki’s neck, a hand caught it before it could pierce anything.

It was Squabee’s.

Tears were rolling down her face. She was sniffling so much she could hardly talk.

"Wait... just... let me do it."

Leno looked at Squabee hesitantly.

"Are you sure?"

Squabee nodded.

"Please."

Leno slowly handed her the knife. After wiping her face a few more times, Squabee held the knife up the Enki’s throat. Her hands began to shake wildly, making small cuts on his skin.

"Damn you, Enki. Why didn’t you just die to a monster you idiot. I’ll... never forgive you for this."

Suddenly, life appeared to come back to Enki’s eyes, a small, faint smile appearing on his face.

"S...Squa...bee..."

Squabee tightened her grip on the knife, Leno leaned forward, the Queen reached for something in her robe, Pops began to transform, time seemed to slow down around everyone.

Squabee pushed the knife into his throat, draining the light from Enki’s eyes.

Leno shot forward, but the Queen had already taken out a new staff of hers. However, instead of pointing it at Leno, she pointed it at Pops. Its tip glowed a dark blue before blowing a massive beam from its tip. The entire room was bathed in a dark light, causing Leno to flinch. When the light cleared, nothing was left of Pops except for his two legs that were still standing up, unaware that its body they were supporting was now missing.

Lidia and Leno stared at the Queen in disbelief.

The Queen turned to them both before pointing the staff at herself with a smile.

"By the way, all of them were tied to loop. You never had any choice to begin with. It looks like you weren’t supposed to trust me after all!"

The tip of her staff glowed another light blue.

"See you in hell!"

With another massive blast, the queen had disintegrated her own upper torso. Her corpse dropped right in front of Lidia. A small silence hung in the air.

The loop had been broken.