Chapter 260: Aestrea Against The World (XXXVII)

“Aestrea~♡”

Yennefer’s voice came right away as soon as Eleonora disappeared. But instead of the calm face she expected…

“…A-Aestrea?”

He was enraged.

BAAAM!

His Chaos Energy erupted like a bomb, the air tearing apart around him.

The blast smashed into Yennefer, hurling her thousands of meters away through the sky like a rag doll.

“W-what…?” She skidded in midair, stopping herself just in time, her hands shaking as the lingering waves of energy scraped past her skin.

“H-how can you… use Chaos Energy?! You’re… you’re just a mortal!”

Aestrea didn’t explain anything.

He stretched his hand, and instead of asking the mana around the air for permission… he simply ordered it with his own authority.

Fwooop!

A small cyan orb flickered into life above his palm. It swelled and spun, growing larger until it was over a meter across, the surface rippling with unstable energy.

“…Go.”

CRAAACK!

The orb shot forward so fast the space behind it fractured, leaving a jagged black line in the air.

It closed the distance to Yennefer in less than a blink.

“Dammit—!”

She instantly pulled black petals together into a hexagonal shield. The petals spun, locking into place, but…

CRACK!

It wasn’t enough.

BAAAAM!

“AGHHHHH!!”

The orb slammed into her chest, punching clean through her body before she could move.

A hole the size of a barrel opened in her torso, dark blood spraying behind her.

BOOOOM!!

The orb detonated in the distance, dyeing the sky bright blue for several seconds before fading away.

Yennefer gasped, clutching at the wound. Her body knit itself back together in seconds, flesh pulling before sealing itself.

But even so, Aestrea didn’t stop, as he took a single step and crossed over a kilometer, appearing in front of her with a blur of motion.

“D-Darling… w-why are you… attacking me?” She reached a trembling hand toward his cheek.

He slapped it aside.

“Why?”

Aestrea let out a dry, bitter laugh.

“You’re asking me why?”

BAAM!!

His Chaos Energy flared again, the blast ripping through the sky.

Clouds tore apart, trees below splintered and fell, and waves rose into giant tsunamis far away.

“You made Eleonora go back to the Divine Realm… and you’re still asking why?”

GRIP!

His hand shot out, clamping around her neck. He lifted her into the air effortlessly, though they were already floating high above the ground.

“Why wouldn’t I attack you… HUH?!”

A violent scarlet smoke escaped his eyes, causing Yennefer to see multiple dead bodies behind Aestrea… her body shivered a little under that sight.

But she quickly waved it off, as she pleaded with Aestrea.

“B-but… you said… You loved me…” Her voice shook, and her lips quivered.

Her wide, wet eyes stared into his, into those glowing, vertical slits that no longer looked human.

“…That’s right,” Aestrea said slowly.

“I said that I loved you.”

His grip loosened slightly.

Yennefer’s face lit up in relief.

But then….

GRIP!

“K-Kaghhh… Aghhh—!”

Her eyes bulged as his hand suddenly tightened around her neck like an iron vice.

The pressure crushed into her windpipe. She clawed at his wrist, kicking in the air, confusion and panic mixing in her gaze.

“But now…” Aestrea’s voice dropped to a cold growl.

“…I really don’t love you anymore.”

Fwooom!

In his free hand, a swirling sphere of mana appeared, glowing in shifting, unnatural colors, flickering like an oil fire.

The light shimmered across his face, making his eyes seem even sharper.

He pressed the sphere against her forehead.

“…Die.”

SPLURT!!

The mana sphere detonated at point-blank range.

Yennefer’s skull burst like overripe fruit, shards of bone, hot blood, and grey matter spraying out in every direction.

Thick crimson streaked across Aestrea’s cheek, dripping down his chin. His clothes were soaked in a wet, warm splatter that reeked of iron.

But his hand never let go of her neck. He held the limp, headless body in midair, his gaze fixed on it.

He wasn’t convinced it was over.

And sure enough…

Gurgle~

The stump above her shoulders bubbled.

Tendons twisted, bones knit together, and within seconds her head reformed in front of him, her eyes blinking back to life.

“Aghhh… that was something else…” Yennefer’s voice was back to its playful lilt, lips curling into a smile.

“Darling~”

Aestrea’s eyebrow twitched in disgust.

“Tsk…”

Aestrea tossed her aside like she weighed nothing.

Yennefer landed on her feet, rubbing her throat with slow, teasing fingers.

“Ahmnn~”

A soft, satisfied moan escaped her lips, almost like she was savoring the faint bruises his grip had left.

“…System, how can I kill Yennefer?”

[You’ll need the God Killing Authority first.]

“Mhm? And how do I get that?”

[You must kill a god… not by force, but by making them give up completely, to the point they end their own life.]

Aestrea’s eyes narrowed, but he gave a single nod.

Without another word, he raised his hand, and a shimmering spatial ripple tore open in the air right in front of Yennefer.

But she strangely didn’t step through or follow him.

Instead, she smiled.

“Bye, darling~” she cooed, wiggling her fingers in a lazy wave.

Aestrea didn’t even look at her as he stepped through the ripple.

Fwip—

Another ripple opened, this time behind her.

From it stepped a tall, dark-skinned woman with long, curved horns.

Her light, revealing garments covered only her private parts, leaving her golden tattoos and toned skin fully exposed.

“…You still aren’t giving up on him?” the horned woman asked curiously.

“Of course not… he’s mine.” Yennefer’s smile was faint, but her eyes burned with a maddened obsession towards Aestrea.

She cracked her neck with a sharp pop.

“You do realize his race turned the entire universe upside down, right? If he ascends, every god will hunt him until he’s dead. Even knowing that… you still want to be with him?”

The woman asked again as she couldn’t understand why Yennefer would go to such lengths for a simple yet terrifyingly dangerous mortal.

“Yes.”

Yennefer answered without hesitation.

“Even if I have to turn the gears of time again with the other two… I’ll do it. Again, and again, and again… until I can finally hold him in my hands.”

“…Haah…” The horned woman let out a long sigh.

She shook her head slowly.

“How unlucky you are…” she murmured.

“To love… a forbidden race.”

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“…H-huh? Aestrea?!”

Rose’s eyes lit up with pure relief the moment he stepped out of the sudden spatial ripple in front of them.

None of them looked surprised by his sudden entrance; they already knew Aestrea had reached SS-rank. But now… there was something different.

They couldn’t measure his power anymore.

“Phew… we almost thought we were gonna lose you for a second…” Iris let out a shaky breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“…Where’s Eleonora?” Lucas asked suddenly.

His eyes locked with Aestrea as he had noticed an unusual expression on his face.

Before, he was calm as always… but now, he seemed a little… sad?

“She’s gone.”

That was all Aestrea said.

And Lucas’s eyes instantly widened at his words as he stepped forward and grabbed Aestrea’s collar forcefully.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT, HUH?!” He shouted in pure rage, as he shook his collar.

“Lucas, calm down!”

Iris and Rose rushed to pull him back.

BAAM!

All three were suddenly blasted off their feet.

But before they hit the ground, Aestrea raised a hand. In an instant, their bodies froze midair, held there as if time itself had stopped, before slowly floating back down.

“…She’s back to the divine realm,” Aestrea finally finished his words.

And his casual words simply made the three have their jaws drop to the floor.

“W-what? S-she was a goddess?” Rose blurted out.

Aestrea gave a single nod.

“W-what about Yennefer?!” Lucas demanded.

“She’s alive. Probably wandering somewhere. I don’t know where she is… and I don’t care.”

Aestrea passed right through them, walking away without a place to go, feeling their gazes on his back.

He continued walking for a few minutes, until he finally saw… a familiar shimmering portal.

Without thinking twice, he entered it… and was immediately sent to… a course of ice skating.

“…This…” he muttered slighly.

It was the first place he had visited with Eleonora in the Snowy Love event created by the academy.

It was also here that his relationship with Eleonora started to deepen.

He walked away… and on the way, he found yet another familiar place… the Cozy Igloo… where he had drunk hot cocoa with Eleonora.

It was funny how this was the first time Aestrea felt so comfortable in the presence of a woman.

He was so comfortable… that although he didn’t admit it, he would love to spend more time here with Eleoneora if he could do it…

Even if they had spent most of the time in silence.

“Ahh…”

Aestrea strolled away from that place, but as he did, the wind seemed to have increased its speed, causing a small scroll to fly towards him.

Which he caught it… and then, he curiously read it.

“I stand tall but have no feet

My arms wave, but I make no sound

That I sleep in winter’s white,

My coat is always green year-round.”

Aestrea remained silent for a moment before muttering…

“…It’s a tree.”

Then, he looked to the side and suddenly saw Eleonora’s blinking expression, as she awkwardly let out a confused sound.

“…Fuck…”

Eleonora’s figure dissipated away as Aestrea left while shaking his head.

In the way, he passed through a familiar sled that quickly reminded him of the scene where they had their first kiss, interrupted by another student.

“No, no, no…”

And suddenly…

“Ah…”

He stopped.

Right in front of a beautiful frozen lake, with silver lanters gently swaying from the trees, their soft glow casting a pattern on the snow-covered ground.

Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky, dancing in the breeze before vanishing into the snow-filled ground.

His eyes widened slighly, as he looked at the gate… and the familiar scene of him and Eleonora dancing appeared.

The sound of the music seemed to have come to reality, as he suddenly saw Eleonora’s figure hooking her arms around his neck.

A place where…

They once again interrupted in their loving kiss.

“…Ahh…”

A silent tear escaped Aestrea’s eyes, as he couldn’t hold himself back and knelt right on the ground.

That made him realize something that he had heard multiple times before…

You only realize the value of something…

When you finally lose it.

“F-fuck…”

Aestrea cried out.

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