Chapter 499 498   - Return(Part 2)　　Ugh...how long has it been? And how much longer will it be?

　　"It's been thirty-four years, and at least another century, more or less," Belia responded, answering my question.

　　Yeah, I don't like you being able to read my thoughts.

　　"Can't be helped...since I'm linked with Diablo and Lazarus, I can't control it."

　　Huh? What're you talking about? They can't read my thoughts, only if I direct it towards them.

　　"Uh-oh, busted...yeah, uh, I kinda used a tiny amount of Divine Magic to let me read your mind. My bad."

　　Damn you, you idiotic, perverted, voyeuristic bitch.

　　"Hey!"

　　Well, whatever. Just hurry up and unravel the barrier as soon as possible, I feel like I'm starting to lose my mind.

　　"Yeah, you might have if I wasn't using Divine Magic to keep your mind intact, otherwise these two decades of being in the dark and unable to move might've driven you insane," Belia informed me smugly.

　　Hm, well, thanks for that, I guess.

　　"Mhm, you're most welcome!"

　　...

　　...

　　Okay, so...now how long has it been? Hm?

　　Hello? Belia? Did you fall asleep or something?

　　Hey, Diablo, Lazarus...where's Belia?

　　"Oh, she's staying silent to freak you out and see how you react," Diablo informed me.

　　"Yes, she seems to be getting bored," Added Lazarus with a sigh.

　　"Not cool, guys! I told you not to say anything till he starts panicking!" Exclaimed Belia indignantly.

　　Just tell me how long it's been and how much longer it'll take. After that, by all means, be as quiet as you want. In fact, you know what, I insist on it.

　　"It's been somewhere between ninety and ninety-five years, I lost precise count of it a while ago. And, uh...maybe about fifty years or so left? I'd say we're close to about two-thirds of the way in unraveling this barrier."

　　Oh, nice. Way to go.

　　"Yup, very nice! I know, I know, I'm super amazing!"

　　...guess praising you is pointless, you seem to have that covered.

　　"No! I like praise from other people more than me praising myself! So praise me!"

　　Sure, once you finish unraveling the barrier and free us all, I'll be sure to praise you.

　　"Great! I'm holding you to that, no takebacks!"

　　Yeah, yeah, whatever...

　　...

　　...　　Hey, Belia, how much longer? Aren't you done yet?

　　"Almost, but not yet. I'd say I'm, uh...about ninety percent done, I think? So maybe another ten years? Fifteen at most," She responded, after mulling it over.magic

　　For real? So, then, we're almost out? Awesome!

　　I wonder how much the world has changed since we got sealed away? I hope it's, like, super advanced and stuff now.

　　"Well, it should be. Without Samsara, there aren't any real threats to worry about anymore. Hm, unless the nations had a falling out and war broke out or something."

　　I hope not, that'd mean all my efforts went to waste. And besides, everyone who was left in charge of each nation when we were sealed away, I'm sure all of them would've made the effort to maintain the peace.

　　Though, well...most of them are probably long gone by now. It never really sunk in before, but...I guess there aren't gonna be a whole lot of familiar faces around when we break out, huh?

　　"Yeah, probably not. The Demons and Vampires will not have aged at all, of course, but the humans, not so much. The members of the other races wouldn't have changed much either. Oh, yeah, and Shiro should still be just fine too...I can't wait to see him again!"

　　Uh-huh. Well, I couldn't care less about what's happened to him.

　　"Yeah, guess you wouldn't."

　　...

　　...

　　"Kuro! Hey, Kuro!"

　　Hm? Yeah, what is it?

　　"What do you think? I'm almost done! Cracks are likely to have started appearing on the outside of the barrier, it won't be much longer now!"

　　For real? That's great to hear, how many more years will it take? Two? Three?

　　"Actually, I'd say about twenty to thirty more-..."

　　I'm sorry, what!?

　　"Hey, let me finish! Twenty to thirty more...minutes. Twenty to thirty more minutes before we break free from this barrier!"

　　I could hardly believe what I was hearing...the time I've spent stuck in this place has been absolute hell, and on multiple occasions, I felt like this imprisonment would never end. Tch, if not-God wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself.

　　"Yeah, tell me about it," Sighed Belia in agreement.

　　Hey, I was thinking to myself that time, stop reading all my thoughts.

　　"Oh, chill out. In less than half an hour, I'll never get to read your thoughts again."

　　It's funny, now that we're just minutes away from freedom, I feel more impatient and anxious than I'd been at any point during the last, uh...wait, exactly how long have we been stuck in here, anyway?

　　"Not sure, to be honest. It could be anywhere between a hundred and thirty to a hundred and fifty years. I stopped counting ages ago, it wasn't worth the effort to keep track of while also working in unraveling the barrier," She answered with a weary sigh.

　　Fair enough, I guess. I'm all nervous and excited, I can hardly wait...

　　...

　　Hey, is it done yet?

　　"Almost, in a minute or two."

　　This almost doesn't feel real, that we're finally breaking free after all this time.

　　"Yeah, I'll say. This barrier is infuriating complex, unraveling it has been an absolute nightmare. It probably would've taken thrice as long if it wasn't for the Divine Magic you provided me with. After this, I bet I can unravel any ordinary spells in an instant," Remarked Belia with a wistful sigh.

　　Good for you.　　"Thanks."

　　I wanna eat a ton of meat...seafood too, and some good booze. And, of course, smoke a whole lot of weed. I've got a hundred and fifty years worth of all that to make up for!

　　"Well, guess what, the wait's over...the barrier is shattering in three...two...one!"

　　Uh...nothing's happening.

　　"My bad, my timing was off...okay, this time for real, three...two, aaand...ONE!" Exclaimed Belia, right as a light burst through the endless darkness surrounding me.

　　I then felt myself falling, blinking a couple of times to let my eyes adjust...woah, what the-...hold that thought, everyone else who was trapped are falling too, and they seem unconscious still.

　　As we all closed in on the ground, I unleashed a gust of wind beneath us, slowing down the fall, as we all lightly thudded onto the floor.

　　I'm...I'm finally free. We're all free. I'm back in the world, after all this time...crap, I think I might cry. I'm really back...

　　"Ow...huh? Where am I?" Came Rion's voice with a slight groan.

　　"Holy crap, what is this place?" Added Sylvar, sounding bemused.

　　"What is this building?" Spoke up Bell in awe.

　　Are we in a different world or something? This place looks...futuristic, even by the standards of my old world.

　　I then glanced to my left, to see Persia latched onto my left arm, her eyes fluttering open as she sat up and looked around with a dazed look in her eyes.

　　"Hey...rise and shine, Cat Girl," I greeted her, as I gently stroked her head.

　　"Hm...? Kuro? What's going on, where are we?" She responded with a stifled yawn.

　　It took a while before everyone recalled what had happened when we got trapped here...it sounded like all of them had been in deep sleeps this whole time, and to them, they hadn't felt the pass of time I'd gone through.

　　We then noticed the people around us, staring in bewilderment, some of them leaving, presumably to call whoever's in charge.

　　"You mean we've been asleep for close to a hundred and fifty years?" Az asked Belia, who had briefly explained what had happened.

　　"Mhm, more or less. And you have me to thank for breaking you all out, you're welcome," Smirked Belia smugly, puffing out her chest.

　　"Are we really back? This building, it looks so strange," Frowned Azeria, looking around.

　　"I'm pretty sure it's the same world, I can feel the presences of my monsters around the world," I nodded, after closing my eyes and focusing.

　　"Damn...looks like this place has really advanced in leaps and bounds, huh? Let's go check it out!" Grinned Rion eagerly.

　　Suddenly, a familiar face rushed into the building, their eyes widening as they saw us and approached us with a gleam in their eyes...

　　"Lord Kuro, everyone...it is good to have you all back, after all this time."

　　"Hey, it's been a while, Nezera," I greeted the Vampire.

　　"Indeed, it has, my lord."

　　"Catch me up on what's been happening lately. Based on this building alone, it looks like we've advanced quite substantially," I remarked with a nod of approval.

　　"Yes, my lord, it has been quite a drastic change. However, I must save that for later...there is a dire situation occurring as we speak. A situation that has been prevalent ever since about fifteen years after all of you were first sealed away."

　　"Hm? A dire situation? Alright, give us the details, and quickly."

　　"Understood."

　　_____________________________________________

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