He who Bends Time-Chapter 52 - What belong to mine

"Phew! So after adding in the price received from selling her training dummy, the total amounts to..."

At his work table, Nick was immersed in his calculations, but at that moment, he paused as an annoying sound kept bothering him from outside.

"Agh!"

"Ugh!"

"Heya!"

It sounded like someone was being beaten up—again and again—and this noise came from just beyond his room’s door.

"Cut it out, whatever you’re doing! I’m working here!" Nick shouted, and afterward, the sounds quickly faded.

"Rascals... If I showed even a bit of patience, all of them would step on my head if they could," he muttered.

With peace regained, Nick once again engaged in his counting business, the result of all the efforts he had made over the past few years.

However, the peace was short-lived. The door to his room suddenly slammed open with a loud crash.

"What the hell—" Nick looked fiercely at the door with confusion and anger, only to see someone he never hoped to see again.

"Hey Nick, remember me?" From the other side of the door stood Marian, who had dragged along a guard—the very one assigned to protect Nick’s room. However, the man was clearly unconscious, having been knocked out with a single slap from Marian. On her way in, she was kind enough to drop the man at the doorway before stepping fully into the room.

"Ho... How are you here?" Nick muttered the words in disbelief.

"Well, it was easy. All I had to do was beat up all those lackeys you sent my way," said Marian, holding her anger.

"Eh! You beat all of them?! That means... you’re the real deal—not some fake like before," Nick stammered.

"Yeah, that’s right. I’m the real deal—Marian. And now, I’ve got a few questions— specifically about the mansion in the Blessing Crystal. I heard you took it using my seal."

Getting closer, the anger on Marian’s face was clearly visible. She grabbed the chair in front of the table and crushed it effortlessly with one hand.

"Eek... shit, she really is Marian!" Nick instinctively stepped back in fear until he was backed into the wall.

However, just then, as if remembering something, a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, if you really are the real Marian, you’d better stop what you’re doing—unless you want your friends at the gate to stay alive, of course.

After receiving the news, I sent a few of my exceptional followers to take care of them. Not to kill, but to take them into custody. If you want to see them again, Marian, I warn you to drop that arrogant attitude."

Nick said confidently, taking a step forward after mustering up his courage.

’Let’s see... although the appearance is pretty similar, if this woman really is the Marian I knew, she would definitely stop—since she cared about those she considered friends. And if not... then she’s a fake. Although there’s a chance even a fake Marian would stop, since it’s common to care about one’s friends. Either way, if she stops, I’ll have a way to control her with that leverage.’

Those were the thoughts running through Nick’s mind behind his confident steps.

"Pffft... haha... HAHAHAHA!"

However, unexpectedly, Marian suddenly started laughing—loudly, as if she’d heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Why... why are you laughing at me? What’s so funny? I swear, I’ll kill one of your friends every time you laugh!"

screamed Nick in anger.

Hearing that, Marian finally held back her laughter—but not out of fear for his threats.

"You idiot... do you think I would be friends with some weaklings?" she said coldly.

"Ugh..."

Hearing her response, Nick suddenly felt a deep, ominous chill run through him. And just at that moment, the sound of a few approaching footsteps echoed into the room.

"Did this belong to someone in here?"

came Auran’s voice as he and the group entered. In Auran’s hand was the head of one of the guards who had come to confront them at the gate.

Holding the head, Auran threw it toward Nick—where it landed extremely close to his feet.

"Uh! Oh shit—fuck!"

Nick suddenly screamed.

"Number three and four, get over here and hold them off for me!"

From the ceiling, two figures jumped down.

"Marian, you should have stayed dead wherever you went," said one of them.

But the moment they landed, they were met by a bloody spear thrown by Marian. The two were completely unprepared to defend against it and were instantly pierced through.

"I worked for you for years, and you think I wouldn’t know about the two assassins you always kept by your side? Playtime is over, Nick. Return what you stole from me—

this instant!" Marian exclaimed.

However, in the moment she was busy dealing with the assassins—though it only took a few seconds—Nick ran to his work table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a tiny potion bottle.

"I just recently bought this item from an alchemy magician out of sheer human curiosity... but I never thought I’d actually need to use it so soon."

Auran quickly glanced at the potion bottle in Nick’s hand, but just by its appearance, he couldn’t figure out what its use might be.

"What nonsense are you saying?" said Marian, though she too was a bit cautious about the potion in Nick’s hand. She took a step forward to lunge at him before he could do anything with it.

But suddenly, Nick popped the bottle open with one finger and gulped down the entire contents within a second.

Seeing that, Marian didn’t waste time—she quickly jumped forward, reached Nick in a flash, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing into the wall.

"Ugh!"

Nick exclaimed in pain. But then a sinister smile slowly spread across his face as his eyes lit up darkly.

"Whatever that thing was, he must have drunk it to strengthen himself," said Henry, noticing the creepy laughter forming on Nick’s face.

"But that’s impossible. Nick is a tamer—and drinking a self-strengthening potion would only help if there were a powerful beast nearby to tame. But in here, there’s no beast to control," Marian said, clearly confused.

"Maybe... it wasn’t him who actually drank the potion," said Nimuk.

He pointed at Nick—drawing everyone’s attention back to his face. From Nick’s mouth, something began to crawl out—something with numerous tiny, furry legs, creeping its way out in a disturbing fashion.

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