094 Reunion

09

4 Reunion

I hung suspended in the sky, staring down at the vast blackened forest stretching endlessly below.

A thick stillness filled the air.

I tried using Egress again—nothing.

A deep frown settled on my face.

“Anything wrong?” Lu Gao’s voice rang in the back of my mind, tinged with concern.

I exhaled. “We’ll be fine.”

At least, that was what I told him.

I opened Voice Chat, trying to call Dave—again, nothing.

This was bad.

Reaching into my sleeve, I pulled out Featherhome and activated it.

The feather burst into blue flames.

“Shit—!”

The flames licked up my arm, scorching the fabric of my robe. A dull pain blossomed, not just in my flesh, but somewhere deeper—like it was burning something beyond the physical.

In my mind, Lu Gao screamed in pain.

A strange reaction. Divine Possession shouldn’t have let him feel this.

The flames shifted. A face took shape within the flickering blue light—blackened eyes, a laughing mouth.

I knew this skill.

Santelmo.

An Ultimate Summoning Skill—a spirit bound by fire, clinging to its prey until it consumed them whole.

“Persistent bastard,” I muttered.

A light flared—Holy Smite. It wasn’t mine, but it was meant for me.

I Flash Stepped to the side just in time for a blazing column of divine energy to explode where I had been floating.

Then, a mirage of a weathered, skeletal hand reached from thin air—Malevolent Grasp.

The sight of familiar skills from LLO sent me into a frenzy.

I twisted mid-air, dodging it by a hair’s breadth.

“Getting real tired of this,” I grumbled, pouring more mana into Zealot’s Stride, weaving through the sky in a chaotic zigzag pattern.

Santelmo still burned me.

I clenched my teeth and cast Cleanse.

Nothing.

I cast it again—still nothing.

Damn it. Ultimate Skills weren’t so easily undone.

Lu Gao’s panic flickered in the back of my mind, but so did something else—his unwavering belief that I would figure it out.

I spread my Divine Sense, searching for my opponent.

Still nothing.

They probably used a stealth-based skill to hide themselves.

I stopped mid-air, forcing myself still. Waiting.

I needed them to move first, so that I could track the trajectory of there spells..

Nothing came.

I clicked my tongue. “Fine, let’s try this.”

I activated Hollow Point: Incursion, letting the dark flames consume me.

A purple blaze engulfed my body, spreading out in waves.

Then, I focused—channeling Hollow Breath Technique and Mana Road Cultivation, directing the flames of Santelmo inward, pulling them into my core.

The flames shrieked—resisted—but I pressed harder, forcing them into submission.

A twisted grin spread across my face.

I devoured the fire.

"Thanks for the meal!" I shouted, voice ringing across the sky.

Silence.

Still no reaction.

Then, the air changed.

A deep pressure settled around me, making my skin prickle.

The clouds darkened.

Above me, the sky split apart—

—and a golden sword descended.

Larger than a mountain, its radiant form cast everything below it in a searing divine glow.

I narrowed my eyes.

I knew this skill.

A single-target Ultimate Skill—

Heavenly Punishment.

"Of course," I muttered.

This day just kept getting better.

I remained still.

No dodging. No blocking. I took it head-on.

A golden pillar of light engulfed me, swallowing the sky in divine radiance.

The world turned white.

This was Heavenly Punishment—a skill that factored karma into its damage.

Last time I checked, my karma value was still on the greener side.

Of course, it still had a massive base damage, and if my karma had somehow dipped into the negative, I might have been atomized on the spot—but who was I?

I’m a Paladin, damn it.

No need for Ultimate Skills just yet.

Besides, there was an attack going on in the Shadow Clan, and now that I had a moment to think, I had a good guess who my attackers were.

With a deep breath, I tanked it.

The divine light tore through me, scorching flesh and muscle. It was like being peeled apart layer by layer.

I clenched my jaw and activated Blessed Regeneration, stacking it with Cure to patch myself up. While at it, I also used Delay Damage.

I had no plans of letting Lu Gao die on me.

The golden sword finally dissipated, leaving me half-naked, my robes burned away, but my body still intact.

I exhaled, steam rising from my wounds as they stitched back together.

That was annoying.

I took another deep breath—then unleashed Lion’s Roar.

My voice thundered across the sky, tearing through the lingering divine light.

I shouted in a familiar language:

“Alice! Joan D’Arc! Stop hurling your damn spells! I’m a friendly!”

A tense silence followed.

I remained vigilant.

What were the chances it wasn’t them?

A silver flash streaked through the air, striking me before I could react.

Halo of Restriction.

My arms and waist tightened as rings of divine light formed, locking me in place.

But my Wanderer’s Aegis skill activated, dispelling it instantly.

Then, more flashes of silver rained down on me.

I counted four more—only one of them failed.

Halo of Restriction could stack three times.

I let myself get caught.

I knew the pros and cons of this gamble.

If this was a mistake, I’d just break free and fight to the death—even if I was outclassed.

A shadow flickered in front of me.

Then, she appeared.

The air stilled.

No more spells came.

Only silence.

Then, a voice—unmistakable, sharp with disbelief.

“…David?”

Alice.

A pink-haired woman descended, bat-like wings folding behind her.

She wore a dark gown, an eerie contrast to her pale skin.

And at her waist, strung with a simple linen rope—

A skull.

I didn’t remember her having that in my LLO days.

A skull? Seriously?

Before I could dwell on it, the damn thing spoke.

In a familiar language not of this world, the skull drawled in a lecherous tone:

“Ugh, I don’t like guys at all… but if it’s Alice, I wouldn’t mind a snuggle.”

Alice scowled and smacked the skull.

“Shut up.”

She turned back to me, expression wary.

“…David? Is that really you?”

Right.

I was still in Lu Gao’s body—my disciple’s body.

To her, I must have looked like some random stranger.

Then again, it wasn’t like I had ever known Alice as David_69, my game avatar.

But I was very familiar with her.

"It's me," I said, keeping my voice calm.

Alice hovered closer.

Then, without warning—

Her hand shot out, gripping my throat.

A sharp pressure crushed my windpipe, but before she could tighten her hold, I forced more mana into Zealot’s Stride—

Shattering the Halo of Restriction.

My body lurched to move, but Alice's claws dug into my skin before I could slip away.

Her nails elongated, turning into vicious, black-tipped talons.

And then came the spells—

“Curse.”

“Great Curse.”

“Maximized Magic: Greater Curse.”

A triple-layered debilitation.

I felt my strength drain. My vision blurred. A dull weight settled into my limbs like lead chains.

Alice tilted her head, smiling playfully.

"Where's David?" she asked, her voice smooth but laced with danger.

I struggled to shake off the curses and answered, "I am David."

Her smile faded.

Alice’s crimson eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me.

Then, she leaned in closer, inhaling deeply.

“…Why can’t I smell your blood?” she murmured, brows furrowing.

A memory clicked.

The Blood Pact.

Back when I still knew LLO as a game, we had made a Blood Pact, linking us in some way.

She must be referring to that.

I exhaled. "This body is under the effect of my Divine Possession. I am David, yet not… David…"

Alice’s expression flickered with realization.

“…Ah.”

Her grip loosened slightly.

“No wonder I could feel David’s presence in you,” she admitted.

"But still—how do I know that for sure?"

She wasn’t convinced yet.

Honestly, I never thought it’d be this difficult proving my identity.

I thought about it.

Alice was an ally.

At least, she had been in LLO.

I decided it was a risk worth taking.

Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with her. “Use Charm on me.”

Alice tilted her head, intrigued. “If you’re really David,” she mused, “then it shouldn’t work at all.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Back in LLO, I had stacked absurd levels of resistance to mental effects. It was part of my Paladin build—divine protection, resistance to mind control, the whole package.

But then, a thought struck me.

“…Wait,” I muttered. “We’ve never actually fought before, have we?”

Alice’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “No, we haven’t.”

Which meant—

She had never tested whether her Charm could work on me in practice.

And Divine Possession only left me with roughly half the stats of my original body.

I sighed.

"I'm going to regret this," I muttered. "But this body is weaker than my main body—so your spell might actually work.”

Alice smirked. “Then let’s find out.”

She raised a hand, casting Charm.

It failed.

She frowned slightly and cast Great Charm.

Still failed.

Her expression darkened. “Alright, let’s do this properly.”

Malevolent Grasp.

A mirage of a giant, weathered hand enclosed around me. My breath hitched as a crushing, nauseating force wrapped around my soul. My stomach twisted—I felt like I was going to puke.

Alice then used Maximized Magic: Greater Charm.

I felt my mind loosen.

My thoughts blurred.

It wasn’t complete mind control, but my usual iron-clad willpower was suddenly a lot softer around the edges.

Alice leaned in, her voice smooth as silk.

“Do you love me?”

I blinked.

What the hell kind of question was that?!

This was no time to get zesty, woman!

Before I could struggle to answer, the damn skull on her waist interrupted, complaining in perfect xianxia speech:

“Why is it not I, oh wretched heavens?! Shall the beauty of Lady Alice be wasted upon this unworthy cur?!”

Alice slapped the skull, scowling. “Shut. Up.”

And then—

The answer came out of my mouth.

I couldn’t stop it.

I couldn’t fight it.

“Always.”

Alice raised an eyebrow.

…Okay, fine.

I had been crushing on this vampire since she first appeared in LLO, okay?!

“Stop playing around.”

A sharp voice cut through the tension.

Joan.

She descended from the sky, seated atop her unicorn. The holy beast's mane shimmered like flowing starlight, and its hooves left faint golden trails in the air.

Joan’s silver-white robes fluttered around her, and in her hand, she held her ornate staff, the holy relic pulsating with divine power.

The moment her emerald eyes landed on me, they narrowed with open disdain.

She raised her staff, and I felt the weight of her divine presence.

"You’re tainted.”

That was the first thing she said.

Not exactly friendly, huh?

Her gaze flickered to my pitch-black left hand, where the lingering corruption from Hollow Point: Incursion still pulsed faintly.

I tried to speak—to explain—but I couldn’t.

I was still under Alice’s Charm.

Alice, ignoring Joan’s reaction, tilted her head at me.

"Are you truly David?" she asked, her voice slow, thoughtful.

“I am.”

But…

“Not in the context you understand.”

Both Joan and Alice frowned.

I knew how it sounded. Cryptic. Evasive. Bullshit.

But how the hell was I supposed to explain that David_69 from LLO and the current David in this world were both me and not me?

Joan’s grip on her staff tightened.

“Explain,” she demanded.

Holy energy crackled at the tip of her staff, faint and restrained, but definitely a threat.

Alice, however, raised a hand.

“No need,” she said simply.

Joan’s frown deepened.

Alice rubbed her chin, deep in thought.

Then, a slow smirk crept onto her lips.

“I think… I get it,” she murmured.

She turned to me, her red eyes gleaming with curiosity.

She let out a small chuckle and released the Charm spell.

The sudden mental fog lifted, and I stumbled back in the air before quickly regaining my balance with Zealot’s Stride.

I shook my head, rubbing my temple.

“That was unpleasant,” I muttered.

Alice shrugged. “You asked for it.”

I took a deep breath, eyeing her warily.

"What do you mean you ‘get it’?” I asked.

Alice tapped a finger to her lips.

“I have a feeling I know what’s going on,” she admitted.

“But I can’t quite put it into words yet.”

Her expression turned serious.

“It probably has something to do with Godhood.”

Joan still wasn’t satisfied.

Her piercing emerald eyes locked onto mine, her grip tightening on her staff.

"Prove it."

I blinked. “Huh?”

Joan lifted her chin, her voice firm.

“If you’re really David, tell me something only we would know.”

I frowned at her, my mind scrambling for something—anything—that could convince her. Then, on impulse, I blurted out—

"Karen, is that you?"

Joan’s scowl deepened into a full-on glare.

“My name is not Karen.”

I sighed.

Damn it.

For a second, I had hoped—really hoped—that my fellow gamer and, ugh, online girlfriend from back in LLO had come to this world to save my ass.

No such luck.

This was unpleasant on so many levels.

I forced myself to focus, sifting through my memories. Not just my memories as David, but the ones I had inherited from David_69—the ones that felt both mine and not mine at the same time.

I turned my gaze back to Joan.

“Our first quest together. Goblin subjugation.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing.

I continued.

“You carried that entire playthrough.”

Joan’s brow twitched.

“I was… impatient when it came to PvE,” I admitted. “Didn’t like the slow grind, so you basically did all the work.”

A flicker of recognition flashed across her face.

I smirked. “You remember, don’t you? How grimdark things got? How we swore we’d never take another goblin quest again?”

Joan’s expression remained unreadable, but I could tell she was listening.

Then, I turned to Alice.

“And you,” I said.

She raised an eyebrow.

“The first time we met, we nearly killed each other. And then we agreed on a Blood Pact.”

Alice’s smirk widened.

Now that got a reaction.

I crossed my arms.

“Do you believe me now?”

Joan let out a slow breath.

“…I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” she muttered.

Alice, on the other hand, seemed far more interested in something else.

She tilted her head, her red eyes gleaming.

“So?” she asked. “How’d you end up here?”

I didn’t bother sugarcoating it.

“Black-masked cultivators.”

The moment I said it, their expressions changed.

Alice and Joan exchanged a look.

A silent understanding passed between them.

I had a feeling they came here the same way I did.