Chapter 268 I Can Allow Myself, Right?
"If I looked differently, this would have been a lot easier, huh?"
The question caught Elisa off guard, and she couldn't hide it.
The blushing Princess scratched her head and looked away.
"Your words, not mine."
"Mm." Mark nodded.
"So? How about it? Huh?"
The white-scaled Monster's gaze ran away, but hers followed persistently.
"Fine, I guess."
With a touch, the horns seemed to start aging incredibly rapidly. They turned to dust, and disappeared.
Elisa's eyes glittered.
"Happy?"
She pushed herself off Mark.
"Well, it's a start," Elisa said as she stood up. "You don't like a Devil anymore. Just a Monster, so yes... It's a start."
The white-scaled Monster rolled its eyes.
Elisa circled around him and took a seat on the opposite side of the tree trunk.
"So how does it work anyways?"
"How does what work?"
"The... Thing you do."
"The thing?"
"Yes. The thing. You can change... Grow wings, make them disappear, just your arm, all that. How does it work?"
"I'm not too sure myself."
"Does it use Mana?"
"No. That's probably the only reason it caught that Commander off guard."
"Mm." Elisa nodded. "Then Endurance Points?"
"I didn't notice it doing so."
"Then?"
"Then... What?"
"Well, what does it use?"
"What does it use... The stuff I've eaten, I guess."
"Mm. That makes sense... In a way. Should be the effect of a Title, right?"
"It is. Any reason why you assumed it was?"
"The effects of Titles don't use up Mana or Endurance. Like Aura. You saw it yourself. That Commander's." Elisa said before yawning.
"The manifestation of Status... Right?" Mark muttered.
"Yes. That's a good way of thinking about it." Elisa slowly crawled to the side. "There is something that bothers me though."
"What is..." She suddenly let her head fall on his shoulder. "It?" Mark continued staring ahead.
"You were inside that Commander's Aura, but you could still move."
that, but Krista also stood up at some point."
"And? You could move too."
"Yeah, so?"
"How come? You should have quite a bit of Status to do it. Not only that, but Krista also stood up at some point."
"And? You could move too."
"Well, I am an Elven Princess. That's Status right there."
"Flaunting the fact that you're Royalty?"
"Sure am. Status is one of the most important things in the world. You know that, right?" Elisa asked as she stared at his face.
Mark sighed.
"I guess. I don't see why it should have an impact on how fights go."
'He's not as ugly from this angle... It's the fangs, definitely.' Elisa thought silently. 'And the... The dark lines that go down his eyes. Corruption, huh? First time I've seen something like that. Even... That white-haired fucker didn't have traces of Corruption on his body. Tsk. It's the reason why he fooled us in the first place, I bet.'
"Right." Elisa said as she raised her head off his shoulder and circled back around the tree. "Well... Actually not right. Being King confers power. Just because you're not inside your Kingdom or that you're alone doesn't mean you should lose that power."
"That's a strange concept."
"Why were you inside that Dungeon?" Elisa asked suddenly.
"Because they put me in there."
"Why?"
"I wasn't told."
"Why do you think?"
"I'd rather not say."
"What's your relationship with them?"
"I'd rather not say."
"What about with Raven?"
"It's as you've seen. He took away my Underlings. That's all there is to it."
"What about that white-haired... Guy?"
"Not fucker?"
"Well, I have to act like a Princess from time to time."
"Oh, do you now?"
"Of course. If I want to remain worthy of my Title."
Mark sighed and raised his gaze to the sky after reading the floating words in front of him.
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is looking at you.]
'I know...'
"Alright. That was a good talk." Elisa let her body fall to the side. "Good night."
"Yeah. Good night..."
Mark remained seated against the tree trunk for a while.
Staring at the sky, and feeling somewhat defeated.
A yawning Moonlit Feline walked towards him.
He held Krista in his hands and raised her so as to be at eye level with him.
"What do you think? No horns, better or...?" Mark whispered as he slouched.
The Moonlit Feline could barely keep its sleepy eyes open.
Still, despite its eyes closing, it did its best to keep its eyebrows moving.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Mark asked himself as he lowered Krista onto his stomach.
The Moonlit Feline curled itself up, yawned, and lowered its head to sleep comfortably as its Master caressed its fur.
'Mm...'
No horns.
Not a big deal, right?
They weren't useful that often.
If anything, they had only been used once or twice.
No horns.
Not a problem.
'I can make them grow back too, so...'
No horns.
No horns...
'I've never had a problem with adding stuff. Might be the first time I've taken something off though. No... I did take away my wings. Can grow them back too, so it's not an issue.'
Not an issue...
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is looking at you.]
'Yeah, I know. But taking away stuff is also part of Evolution, isn't it?'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods hesitantly.]
'Yeah. Taking stuff away is also Evolution. But...'
Mark turned around slightly.
She was there, with her back turned to him.
Her ashen hair.
Gorgeous, she was.
'I didn't do it... With Evolution in mind.'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods.]
'But it does open up the possibility for... Something else, right?'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" shrugs.]
'You don't agree?'
[Your Title "Devourer" agrees.]
'That's surprising.'
[Your Title "Devourer" chuckles.]
'Huh.'
Mark scratched his head and lowered his gaze to the sleeping Moonlit Feline on his stomach.
You've mellowed out-
'I guess I really did... I still love fighting and Devouring. Obviously. More than anything really. It's just...' He turned around and stared at her for a bit. 'I wonder how other things would... You know?'
[Your Title "Devourer" nods enthusiastically.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" shrugs.]
'This is fine, right?' Mark asked himself as he stared at Elisa. 'I can do this. I can do this... Even though I am a Monster. I can allow myself to... Right?'
Right?
