3. Darkness Strikes

Subjugation army marched through the waterway that leads to temple of water. Add had it physically

physical strength walking like the others.

walked far ahead of him.

Add got surprised and jumped to the side when Rena silently approached beside him to ask. Rena

Her appearance changed all of a sudden after all. I was very surprised too. She said nothing was

Weve already seen something like this before.

time then displayed an overwhelming power.

the same principles.

Rena said this then shot an arrow forward without even properly looking at where she was shooting.

Wow.

Velder knights whispered amongst each other and were each stealing glances of admiration towards

Demons were hidden for ambush in various places but they were all cleaned up soon as Rena

to her.

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didnt have much confidence that he could defeat Rena in a direct confrontation.

Yes, that also makes sense. And others with become stronger too.

So you dont have to be so restless Add.

That night when Add witnessed Eves growth, he took the El Aisha gave him in his hand and made

Add you are definitely strong and reliable.

Yes, alright.

touched the El he stored in his pocket.

problem was its method of activation. Add tried researching it in various angles along the lines of

I cant understand this magic thing at all.

beg her to tell him how it operates. Add had his eyes opened narrowly while thinking intently when

Eve who had been clearly walking ahead of him before was now approaching him.

dramatically? Adds heart was beating fast for some reason. No, since when did he ever care about

Anyways, although he couldnt find out the cause, the conclusion here was that it was difficult for

Hmph..

Dynamos moving speed and walked beside him.

What do you want?

prepared to snort back but the reply he got was unexpected.

.

Add. Even if she had something to discuss with him, wasnt it more like Eve to spout couple ice

Of course it wasnt like Eve always acted this coldly towards everyone. Add provoking her multiple

Eves cold attitude towards him in his head when he finally came to his senses.

Ara was freed from her chains and now was walking with her own two feet. She still had an

chatted from time to time.

Oh that..

hand was more reasonable course of action than glaring at the El all day long.

to her changed appearance. Actually even staring at her was uncomfortable right now so Add had

Adds eyes caught Rena waving her hand slightly towards him.

Just how did you activate that El?

Yet?

wasnt she a Nasod? Eve was saying that there was a possibility that she might be able to understand

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Eve from before had distanced herself from the other members But Eve right now was

Just this much difference was actually amazing.

Eve replied quietly to Adds honest admiration.

now on. And if Im ever able to understand it, Ill share the information with everyone.

Its not just me that obtained the El from Aisha.

like this, then the same should be possible for the other three as well. Unfortunately, Eve, a Nasod

..Its emotion.

couldnt identify the activation condition if it was something that could be determined by reason and

that it was emotion.

and Space was emotion.

.

she had no emotions..did she finally admit it? That she had emotions?

That El is a conglomeration of emotions. Even I was momentarily surprised.

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problems.

she believed that those emotions werent her own but instead those that were contained in the El.

Kukukuk.

Thats all I had to say. I hope this helps with your research.

Of course, only Eun knew that Adds ultimate goal was to steal Eves Core. Eve wouldnt know. But

Because I want to become stronger together with everyone.

Thats all.

anymore as he stared at her back moving further away.

Until now, Eve hadnt been that interested in the El Search Party. She had a picky and introverted

Of course, Rena who was very sociable took care of Eve a lot and was able to converse with her

she was also able to smoothly carry out conversations with sharp-tongued Add?

sense of distance. She prioritized Elsword first then other people came after.

She really changed.

about emotions.

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with a single shot of Renas arrow.

sky. He was thinking over the conversation he had with Eve during the day and about this tickling

Ara looked around the surroundings once then spoke carefully.

Youre already speaking.

Im sorry for disturbing you when you were deep in thought. Ill speak to you later.

He couldnt figure out his issue with Eve no matter how he thought anyways. After getting the

Looking at her carefully, her expression looked rather worn out. Add asked after noticing her

Why do you look so worn out? Was there any problem with the supplies?

Seeing Ara shake her head left and right, Add threw in a question randomly.

.

Well, the purpose of this subjugation army was to take Ran down. It would be stranger if Aras mind

So, what do you want to do now?

It looked like Ara still couldnt decide on how she should deal with Ran.

Elder Brother Aren caused pain and harm to so many people.. Wouldnt it be selfish for me to

What does that have to do with anything?

I said, what does that have to do with anything? Why does Ran killing somebody matter to you at

Ara stared at Add with an extremely shocked face. But Add was answering her seriously.

precious person right? Then you should protect him no matter what.

I have no interest in justice.

Stuff like that. It all burned away long ago.

So then Aren must not be that important to you.

Im sorry..but I dont think I can tell you anything useful about your worries.

Ara must have sensed something and asked carefully. Add answered with a head gesture.

Add decided on this, justice and other peoples circumstances didnt matter at all for him anymore.

paradox, side effects of time travel and possibilities of time traveling bringing about some sort of

Time was something that had been paradoxical since the beginning of the universe.Just a single

Kukukuk..

No, it was already changing. Eve was supposed to be destroyed in Elder and the El Search Party

would have certainly fallen to Elesis in Velder.

outcome Add was trying to prevent. It wasnt because he had any particular grudge against the

If you considered Add who was completely changing the determined history of the world, Aras

Decide freely for yourself.

told her with a loosened voice.

.I dont want to run away.

must be somewhat alike because they were both front line fighters.

Why are you talking to me about this? Are you asking me to take your side if something happens?

Ara denied it but still trailed her words. Add knew very well that Ara didnt approach him with that

have such intentions.

She always fights her best to protect others. She never backs out even when her life is in danger. An

Completely opposite from Add. They were polar opposites. While Add did get enraged and

more on a same page with Eun than Ara.

Ara leaned her forehead on the pole of her spear she was grasping tightly. She then spoke with a

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multiple times already and will do so again many times as it was necessary.

.I cant sleep recently.

I only see horrifying things whenever I close my eyes..

Wasnt the problem of her merging with Eun solved already? Add got startled and examined Ara but

When Elder Brother and Karis turned my village into ruins I was too weak to stop them.

when I meet him then finally turn him back into Elder Brother Aren.

Ara wavering and being unable decide on her course of action was the real reason why she was being

Still, she was freed from being a prisoner and she looked alright when she was fighting so Add

But I dont know if thats the right thing to do.

There was nothing Add could say for her. Add recalled Elsword and Elesis relationship and thought

Elsword and Ara seemed similar in that they both had honest to goodness personalities but they

Elsword will believe in his own path and move forward even if Elesis tried to destroy the world. It

He wont care about exact circumstances if it was for the purpose related to his most precious

There were difference in degrees but Elsword and Add were similar in this regard. Thats why Add

Too delicate..

But Ara cares about others peoples circumstances. She cried from painful heart after seeing the

circumstances. Add didnt approve of her actions but he could understand them.

knew that

And Im afraid that.. Elder Brother will do the same thing to all of you.

I keep having those kinds of dreams.

shes been traveling together in front of her, Ara is overcome with sense of helplessness and isnt

Even though I try to fight and protect all of you. I always lack the strength to do so. Then in

ago and calls for me.

Everyone I knew is gone from this world and the only person left is Elder Brother. Im so

Aras voice was shaking as if she was about to cry in any moment.

wavering.

Thats..

future as she gets merged with Eun. It was a future that actually had a chance of happening.

feeling oppressed all this time after seeing this. Aras back thinly shaking looked so small that Add

Should he tell her to forget it? Say that it was only a dream? But facing powerful foes and seeing

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Im sorry. I may have said something that sounds too weak.

Add.

too..

Add looked at Aras back and spoke sharply.

..

maintained. He just had to do it again during their fight with Ran.

difficult to do.

Thank you.

werent able to give her much comfort.

Hmph.

She wont believe it and there wasnt much point to her believing either.

If the time where somebody in the El Search Party died came, all he had to do was get rid of it by

Yes, I just have to do that

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platform to descend. After that, you had to go through a cave to arrive at the Temple of Water.

all at once and still had plenty of room left over.

Of course, demons didnt just sit around and watch quietly as the army advanced. Shadow Chargers

her spear.

Add put Ara in charge of taking care of the small fries and was just observing from afar when

Theres no reason for all of us to be involved when were only dealing with minions.

position around the platform. No matter how many demons came at them, they were all like leaves

Shadow Demons must have decided to attack the North side where Ara was guarding because they

they left Ara to energetically fight by herself. Even though dozens of demons were falling at the

There was no need to assist her because they were all going to go flying soon as she swung her spear

But its a bit strange. Arent the number of demons getting in our way too little?

Penensio who was admiring Aras spear skills asked seriously.

he responding appropriately?

Yes, those Shadow Lords.

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the sea? Add laughed amusedly but Penensio continued gravely.

needs to send foes of at least that level. Why isnt he doing that?

Honestly, even the Shadow Master wasnt much of a problem to them now. Ran should have known

against it because only Add and Eves attacks worked on it but it was completely cleaned up thanks

There shouldnt be any meaning even if he sent Chaos Shadow again

Add nodded at Penensios words but then felt that something was strange. There was something he

Be quiet for a bit.

arrow and a swing of Aras spear. Both sides should already be expecting that Ran and the El Search

to annoy them a bit, thats all..

inside the room yet he couldnt find it. Just when Add was feeling restless and biting his lips, the

And Renas warning was heard.

At her words, the Velder Knights also drew their weapons. When even Penensio beside him drew

Ahahahahaha! Oh? You want to play!?

On top, on the platform that was sticking out, they could see a dancing lump of muscles. Add

Others must have been thinking the same because the entire platform became dead quiet. Lump of

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The platform shook greatly. The demon that fell off dozens of meters wasnt hurt even slightly as it

along with that roar, it looked like the demons wanted have the showdown here.

Add spoke. Penensio was staring at him with a strange expression but Add didnt mind. Enemy has

The El Search Party will take care of that stupid lump of muscles. Others all team up and take care

At Adds order, the subjugation army immediately split into two. The El Search Party fighting Victor

Finally, someone that looks a bit strong.

Lets finish this up quickly and help the other soldiers.

Lets take care of this as usual. Wait

But Add paused and looked towards the boy who was standing beside him not saying anything.

Oh, am I not supposed to be here?

Never mind. Im counting on you for cannon support.

in the front line despite his position. Add thought highly of him for this.

Alright, lets go!

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followed closely after Elsword and ambushed the Shadow Snipers hiding behind Victor, she held

Area around Victor was cleared out immediately and room for a fight was made. Add who was

Uugh?!

started dripping blood after getting caught up by the shock.

Add muttered as he stopped assisting. He observed how the situation at the back was going.

Hamels temporary lord Chung and the Velder Knights captain Penensio to be in command. But

And the one who actually came up with the El Search Partys plans and determined their course of

Not that I care..

almost never objected to Adds request and methods. The two seemed glad they had been relieved

Anyways.

strengths fell behind the demons but they were taking down demon after demon by taking up

of elites.

They would be useful in their showdown against Elesis after they returned to Velder. Add was

What are you thinking about Add?

Chargers fell each time she fired. Her skills were remarkable no matter how many times he saw it.

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something was off, this uneasy feeling didnt disappear.

Hey Elsword! Try fighting him by yourself!

From this request telling Elsword to take down Victor by himself, Ara and Eve who were assisting

request and threw himself at Victor. Victor also made a large spin as he threw his fist Sword

Brat! How dare you damage my body of steel!

while widely swinging his sword upwards. Victor got surprised by this even more and blocked the

of steel just like he boasted.

Sword attacks didnt work properly on Victor. Elsword determined this and struck the ground with

hurriedly backed out.

It was a great chance. Elsword kicked the ground to jump up and tried to smash down on Victors

to drip from his skin this time.

held up his sword to block. Elsword still couldnt do anything about their difference in weight so his

Victor and Elsword stood facing each other with some distance between them as they caught their

Hmm.

Victor looked quite tense. But although Elsword was at an advantage, he looked like he didnt care

stronger than anyone else in the world waiting from him at the end of all this.

Here I go!

Add was observing the twos fight when Eve approached him to ask.

I dont know..

wasnt trying to be mean right now. He actually couldnt think of a way to explain his actions.

just slightly.

Its to prepare for whats coming next.

Elsword might get hurt like this.

Eve gave Add a gaze as if this was unexpected when he changed his methods. Rena who was

Add, youre doing this because you want to confirm how much Elsword has grown right?

He felt uneasy for some reason. It felt like they shouldnt give it their all in this fight.

match for the El Search Party? They would certainly be in trouble if he sent multiple Chaos Shadows.

He should know that sending Victor wouldnt even buy him time. Just why?

couldnt be completed because couple pieces were missing.

Kuaaaaah!!

Victor screamed loudly as he fell with a large thud. Add approached behind Elsword who was

You beat him.

Elsword was panting, he looked exhausted.

kind of emotion during battle.

Its nothing.

Add felt intrigued and was thinking when a desperate voice warned him.

Wha.

him was faster. Scythe that had abruptly appeared by tearing through empty air was flying towards

Add couldnt react at all to this abrupt attack.

But Aras spear flying in was even faster. The spear Ara had thrown accurately hit and deflected the

air.

It was such a narrow escape from death. Add quickly backed out. Elsword who was catching his

falling from the air.

dimension gate and appeared.

Usually, there was a sign before regular dimension gates opened but these gates didnt have such

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Search Party. She was a beauty with provocative eyes and was wearing a revealing outfit as if to show

Karis..

bowing.

But her seductive voice was foretelling a brutal future. Just when the group was about to answer.

Dont be so hasty. Youll all get a turn to die one by one.

realized that she was a formidable opponent and exchanged gazes with each other then finally

Everyo..

Just when Add was about to give an attack order to the El Search Party, Karis laughed and waved

Im planning to kill you all. But its annoying to take care of every one of you insects individually.

Do you really think that will be so easy?

a proper formation and yet she ran in first.

It looks like youve made up your mind. But youre still no match for me.

Ara didnt back out and tried to attack again but Karis snapped her finger. Sound of an explosion

space.

ever appearing by swinging her hand.

Ohohoho, do you really think you can defeat me with such crude abilities?

Elswords sword answered her instead. Despite being tired from his fight with Victor, Elsword

with a teleport.

Boom! Karis frowned when a cannonball that Chung had fired exploded. It wasnt a direct hit but

But here was an opening! Ara held her spear with long reach and stabbed but Karis dodged with a

Not only was she strong, she was agile due to her space related abilities. As expected from a general,

Add who was observing the battle with Karis looked around to see how things were going at the

were assisting them but the situation wasnt looking too good.

Well have to finish this at once drive her into the corner!

Karis. But Karis was looking leisurely. She deflected Aras spear attacks, dodged Elswords sword

Then Karis changed the beat of her movements. She spun around to dodge the spear then swung

Elsword got surprised by Aras crisis and quickly threw his body while swinging his sword.But as

Aerial movements, Karis who had wings was capable of 3 dimensional evasion and attacks.

Everyone back out!!

do and backed out. After confirming that Chung had backed out as well, Add immediately fired an

So you can ignore Void Impact? But you wont be able to ignore this!

Gravity Buster!!

attack that compressed even the space with a massive gravity was Adds new ultimate skill he

Space was being compressed by such a powerful gravity that it was impossible to observe what was

was released, a formless vibration and a heat wave swept through the area.

eyes. Obviously, Karis who had gotten hit directly wouldnt have survived.

his guard. No matter how powerful this skill was, there was no way a demon general would be

Slit.

Did you rats really think youd be able to win in Hamel after getting defeated and running away

To think shed dodge with a teleport right before the impact. Realizing the declaration of death on

neck.

Rena noticed Adds danger and quickly fired arrows towards Karis. Karis let out a sharp laugh then

slightly oozing out blood.

Just whats your purpose?

slight pause, he fired a Void Impact. Karis who was carelessly about to answer him got startled and

How dare you..... You made a scar on my body!!

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time.

too clever.

Karis was going easy on them. Seeing how she didnt cut Adds throat right away just now, she was

By Rans request, Im here to bring his little sister to him.

Ara got extremely shocked by this and looked up at Karis who was floating in mid air. The other

kept secret so the Velder Knights who didnt know about this all looked surprised.

But if you resist right now, we wont leave even a single brick of Hamel.

Add snorted. Karis was about to answer him but quickly flapped her wings to dodge. Space she had

Seriously..

conversation. Shed be more than prepared if this happened while they were in middle of fighting

Of course, Add wasnt intending on going through with this kind of negotiation. He had mixed in

meantime in the hopes of injuring her.

to think you can pull off a negotiation after youve launched an unwarranted attack on us.

Karis got angry and swung her scythe as she flapped her wings. Then a dimension gate opened and

Die! Death Strike!!

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that he couldnt protect Rena and Eve because they were far away. But when Eve swung her arm, a

Velder Knights and Rena inside Eves barrier will be safe. The problem was.

Kugh..

on his barrier. What was this stupid attack? It would have been instant death if they were hit by this

Hail of purple orbs didnt stop. Add let out a painful cry after realizing that the barrier had reached

Big Brother Add, will you be okay?

This much would have been easy if it was just Add protecting himself. But the problem was that

consuming Adds mental powers rapidly.

Just when hundreds of cracks formed on the barrier..Death Strike finally ended. Add let out a sigh

You held out? Then heres one more! Death..

They couldnt hold out anymore. Add withdrew the barrier then grabbed the back of Chungs neck

running towards Eve.

Then a cruel sentence fell upon the four as they were running away. Purple orbs started to fall on

through falling meteors.

But the problem was that he was grabbing Chung. This guy was heavy because of his armor and

He was literally a heavy baggage.

Dont make me laugh!!

he didnt let go of his hand grabbing on to Chung. His life would be saved if he left Chung and ran

Refusing to yield and risking his life, Add dashed in zigzag formation across the storm of Death

Kiiyahahahaha!!

platform was already shattered from the Death Strikes to the point where it was now unrecognisable.

like this..

In that moment a sound of explosion was heard beside Add then his vision started to spin. Dirt and

Add realized a moment later. That he was collapsed on the ground.

Did we get hit?

whenever he moved. Thankfully, the second Death Strike had ended.. But staying here lying down

Chung was unconscious but still breathing thinly.

At Adds call, Dynamo, his faithful Nasod moved and placed Chung on top of itself. Dynamo was

carefully. It was a 1 seater if you wanted it to fly normally.

Chung who was unconscious and Add who was injured. Both of them couldnt get on the Dynamo

He couldnt get on the Dynamo and run away by himself while leaving unconscious Chung behind.

Add raised his head while pressing on his chest. Karis was afloat in the air looking down at him with

Oh a rat is still alive?

Add let off a strange laugh that he didnt recognise himself as he sent the Dynamo with Chung on

Without the Dynamo.. Adds offensive abilities and mobility was completely gone.

Hanging around soft people must have made me disgustingly soft too

can just let Chung die then call Eun out to time travel..what was he doing?

Add straightened his back as he muttered. It was also partially because time travel wasnt something

preferable for him. He didnt want to do it if possible.

honestly admit it now.

Whether it was Eve, Rena, Elsword or anyone else, he didnt want to see someone who he had

He decided to jump through time in the first place because he didnt want to see such things,

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chance of success but he couldnt just die standing here.

Its time to die now right? Got any last words?

Add laughed as if he was talking about something extremely trivial.

dimension gate.

Add will die for certain if Karis came at him with a close quarter combat. Drawing out this kind of

Add had provoked Karis in order to draw this attack out..and it worked perfectly.

about to dash with all he had but paused.

of him.

situation and came out of Eves barrier by herself.

Are you alright, Mr.Add?

Of course, Aras mobility was outstanding. She was faster than Adds Dynamos if you took out the

Strike. It was a perilous venture for her to grab another person and escape.

stay put and coming out. With another Death Strike about to fall from behind him, Add slowly

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..

palm.

caught Add from falling. Even though she was the one who had struck, Ara had a surprised

Da..

and now he couldnt even speak after getting hit by Ara. Ara shook her head lightly then whispered.

.Hey.

didnt move well. Aras attack had come in when he was extremely worn out so just maintaining his

Ara held Add so he wouldnt fall then forced a smile with teary eyes.

How come he wasnt able to speak in a moment like this? Add felt a sudden resentment towards his

Ara carefully laid Add down then turned around towards Karis. After being injured and getting hit

Karis! Stop this!

Karis was about to fire a Death Strike but stopped when Ara jumped out of the barrier. Bringing

Ill follow you. So..stop.

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thought there could be other attacks so she didnt withdraw the Death Strike she was preparing. All

Add looked at Aras back with a blurry sight.

He just had to fight once more using time travel. He couldnt even time travel if Ara was gone. But

Of course, Aras decision was reasonably correct. It was an adventure to navigate through the falling

Ara, but Add whose body was no different than a normal humans would instantly get shattered

ButAdds anger surpassed all of these reasons, his body was powerless and didnt move as he

Dont g

Ara looked back towards Add and smiled.

Ara cried while looking back at Add.

jumped into the dimension gate. When Ara disappeared through the darkness, Karis sneered as she

It wouldnt matter if I smashed you all here right now. But Ill let you off this time.

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remained after all enemies had disappeared.

Add was finally able to move his lips but blood flowed out of his mouth. He couldnt contain his

Youre not going to get away with thi..

While still clenching his fists in frustration