After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 517 - 203: Partner, Join Me on Another Journey

The sky was faintly lit, morning sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves and spilling onto the clear lake, shimmering with ripples caused by the delicate toes of the young girl.

Sleipnir sat on a rock by the lake’s edge, her long, straight legs submerged in the water, her milky-white hair that felt like satin billowed in the gentle breeze. She gazed tenderly at the man beside her as if he were the only one in her eyes.

The man who should have been at the end of time miraculously appeared and was the first to seek her out, a sensation that filled her heart with sweetness as if it were brimming with honey.

"I didn’t expect you to remember me," Xi Mu said, looking at the brightly smiling Sleipnir beside him, "Our partnership should have dissolved automatically."

"It was the extraterritorial demon who sent my soul to the Hall of Valor, allowing the memories of the future to synchronize with the present," Sleipnir explained lightly as she fiddled with the lake’s surface, "The extraterritorial demon seems to want to use us to restrict your actions, to prevent the world from being burned too easily."

Even though she wasn’t dazzlingly gifted like the demons and witches, she could understand why the extraterritorial demon deliberately preserved her soul—it wasn’t for her own sake but because of Ahtal.

"Then he has done something quite nice," Xi Mu was not troubled by the actions of the extraterritorial demon; in fact, he thought it was well done.

As the King of Ash, he would burn everything other than himself to cinders, including his partner, so he dissolved his partnership with Sleipnir shortly after becoming the King of Ash and sent her to the Church of Death.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a partnership should not be easily dissolved, as both partners are on the same path, and it is not easy to abandon one another. But Sleipnir had not caught up to his pace, and with the authority of a player, dissolving a partnership was as simple as changing a pet. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Moreover, at that time, Sleipnir’s abilities were of almost no help in his battles; when fighting the God of Omniscience, base speed was at the speed of light, and Sleipnir’s powers were virtually useless, so he casually dissolved their partnership.

"Yes, I think so too," Sleipnir chuckled softly, her hand gracefully tucking her hair behind her ear, "Otherwise, I might have forgotten you."

"Don’t worry, I’ll create new memories," Xi Mu glanced over at the Pestilence Witch not far away to see her wringing her hands nervously, her gaze wandering as if ready to flee at any moment.

Following his gaze, Sleipnir said, "It’s better to seduce me with stories and music than try to use her to catch me."

She recalled how she was initially persuaded to become a mount by Ahtal; from the start, the man had targeted her, and back then, she naively believed Ahtal’s words, thinking she had chosen to follow him of her own volition. Looking back now, she realized how cunning a man Ahtal was.

But now it was all too late.

"Music and stories?" Xi Mu pondered for a moment, then plucked a leaf from a lakeside tree and began to play. Familiar melodies wafted over the lake, harmonizing with ripples stirred by the girl’s toes, together painting a heartwarming scene.

Morning sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the girl, who looked at the man playing music for her with a sweet smile, as if she had returned to the moment when she first saw Ahtal. Except back then it was late at night, and now it was morning. Her feelings had shifted from initial caution to utter elation and sweetness.

In the same place, within the same surroundings, it was still the same person doing the same thing, yet the emotions surging in her heart were entirely different.

After what seemed like a long time, or perhaps just a moment,

Xi Mu put down the leaf and looked at the brightly smiling girl beside him before stretching out his hand, "Partner, will you join me on one more journey?"

"Yes," Sleipnir gently took his hand, and with a tender smile toward Ahtal, she said, "No matter how many times, or how long the journey is."

"That sounds exhausting," Xi Mu chuckled softly, pulled Sleipnir to her feet, and then walked toward the conflicted Pestilence Witch nearby.

As they drew closer, the Pestilence Witch stepped back, her gaze filled with wariness. Despite the man previously showing a graceful and gentlemanly front that easily deceived young girls, she remembered clearly that Ahtal was an extremely dangerous being—the King of Ash from the end of time, a terrifying entity that could at any moment descend to burn the world to ashes.

"Don’t be so afraid," Xi Mu couldn’t help but shake his head, "I’m not a demon, I won’t eat you."

The Pestilence Witch twitched her mouth.

Did this man have any self-awareness? He was the most dangerous existence in this world, demons were nothing compared to him.

"You... no, why do you intend to make contact with me?" She collected herself, her gaze suddenly cooling, "There’s no value in contacting a minor witch like me, is there?"

As self-deprecating as it sounded, it was the truth compared to the Witch of Death, the Creation Witch, and the Time Witch, she indeed was a minor witch, even if in the eyes of ordinary people, she was extremely dangerous. But she held no value to attract the attention of the King of Ash.

"To meet a god," Xi Mu answered offhandedly, walking with Sleipnir towards the outskirts of the oak forest, while the Pestilence Witch hesitated for a moment but still followed the steps of the King of Ash, choosing not to flee. Although the King of Ash seemed to have only the power of awakening abilities, for an entity of his level, power levels were written offhand. At any turn, he could become the terrifying existence that burns the world. So as long as there was a chance that he was the real King of Ash, she dared not offend him carelessly.