Arthur and Rita appeared once more, this time on a grassy field.
As they expected, their body immediately came to a still when they appeared.
Arthur quickly shut his eyes and controlled his breathing, as he sought to replenish whatever mana he could with the little time he had.
Rita on the other hand just kept still, not even bothering to break the constraint on herself this time. She had a conflicted look on her face.
A couple of breaths passed.
Sensing movement up ahead, Arthur opened his eyes as he looked at the fast-approaching king placidly.
The king simultaneously saw the two at the same time he was sensed.
He gazed at the placid look on Arthur’s face from afar and could feel anger boiling within him.
This time though, he controlled his rage and instead turned to his daughter as he questioned.
“Girl, do you know what you have done?”
A few more breaths and the king would arrive at their location.
“Fa-Father I…” she was cut abruptly as she and Arthur simultaneously disappeared from the king’s view.
Seeing this, three thick veins popped on the head of the king as he cursed under his breath
“This bastard”
Even with all the rage boiling within him, he sulked it up as he continued to give chase.
But
When he saw the two again, he felt his world turn around as he almost coughed blood from anger. He came to a quick stop few hundred meters away from the duo.
“Boy, you are going too far,” said the king with blood red eyes.
There, by the side of his still daughter, he saw a boy with his back facing him, his knees bent, and his ass puffed out in his direction. His arms were raised by his sides, his elbows bent as he placed his hands like the form of a mantis.
He performed some kind of mantis dance, and as he moved his head sideways in sync with his hands, his ass also moved along ‘in and out’.
“Hahahahaha. My king, this is a dance that my people perform when paying respect to our king. Hope you love it.”
At the side, the princess could not help but shut her eyes tightly as she stopped herself from laughing out. Even though it was her father that was being made fun of, when has her father the king ever been treated like this?
Seeing the reaction of his own daughter, the king did not actually burst out in anger but instead collected himself.
He stopped a few hundred meters from them as he continued to watch Arthur dance with an indifferent gaze.
A few breaths passed.
Not receiving the reaction he expected, Arthur stopped his dance as he lost interest in continuing. He turned and faced the king.
“Boy, I acknowledge your strength but that does not give you the right to be so disrespectful. If you don’t have proper manners, even if you are so…”
“I do not need your moral talk. You are not my father. How I live my life has nothing to do with you?” Arthur cut the king off, his voice a bit cold.
“Indeed. Surrender and let my daughter go. I will be lenient in my punishment if you do.”
“Haha,” Arthur chuckled lightly.
“You can’t even catch me yet you want to punish me?” said Arthur with an amused face.
“You are mistaken, boy. I have not attacked you once because my daughter is beside you. Do not think for a second that I can’t hurt you if I so wish to.”
“Why don’t you give it a try then?” retorted Arthur as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
The king frowned deeply. To be honest he did not want to harm his daughter and the boy himself. After all, he has never seen a talent like the boy. He had always thought that his wife and daughter were the most talented people in the world, but even compared to them the boy in front of him was simply a monster.
‘Seems I need to teach him a little.’
A fierce glint flashed past the eyes of the king.
He lifted his right hand in Arthur’s direction as the atmosphere simultaneously turned cold.
“Since you are taking my kindness for granted, I have no choice but to show you what I can do.”
Arthur’s expression fell as he put on a grave face. The dangerous vibe he was feeling from the king told him he had underestimated the king greatly. He thought he could match the king in battle prowess but now he realized that before him, he was completely powerless.
Realizing that he had to run, he moved quickly in the direction of the princess as he tried to get hold of her in order to teleport.
But
A fair soft hand landed on his shoulder as he was abruptly stopped.
“That is enough,” a sweet feminine voice echoed out.
The king stopped his attack as he called out lovingly
“Silvia”
“Darling, there is no need for you to act,” continued Queen Silvia with an alluring voice.
‘When did she appear behind me? I did not even feel her presence. As expected, this woman is far more terrifying than the king. S***! I should have at least researched this kingdom before acting out like that before them. I overestimated myself,’ all these thoughts went through his head as he berated himself for being too arrogant.
“Mother please, it is not his fault. I am the one that actually asked him to take me. If you want to punish someone, then punish me,” Rita voiced out pleadingly.
“I know,” said Queen Silvia
“I am not against you leaving with him, after all, he won the tournament, so he is the your-to-be husband. Neither am I angry about his behavior toward our kingdom.” Silvia continued
“But…” her word trailed off before she continued
“For him to continuously mock your father, that I will not tolerate. Therefore he must be punished,” even though she seemed to be angry, her voice did not reveal the slightest emotion of anger. Her voice continued to be sweet and charming.
But to Arthur?
It sounded more like the whispers of the devil.
‘S***!’ that was the last thought that passed through his mind before
“Time loop” Silvia called out lightly
Rumble
The earth quaked and the sky shook, a testament to the reality-distorting power evoked by Queen Silvia.
The huge spherical golden sphere composed of numerous circles; the magic cast by the king was forcefully dispelled.
A bright golden light enveloped Arthur, and the king and princess were forced to close their eyes due to the intensity of the light.
Arthur lost control of his body; his mind disoriented as his body moved in reverse to the point in time where he was staring at the king with his hand raised about to attack, and further back to when he danced and made fun of the king, his body replaying all of his previous actions.
Arriving at the point he was about to start dancing, his body stopped shortly before he started dancing once more. Time continued forward to the point where he was about to get hold of the princess and about to teleport before a fair hand stopped him in his path. And yet, time continued to be reversed as he moved once more retracing his previous action all over again.
To the king and princess, it seemed like Arthur was repeating his previous action continuously though his figure appeared distorted. However, to Arthur who had no control of his body and whose mind was thrown in disarray, it felt like hell.
“This will continue for three hours. Once he stops, you can continue on your journey,” said Silvia
The king and princess were not surprised by the power she displayed after all they knew this was nothing compared to the power she actually wields.
“Let us go, darling,” Silvia said to the king before she turned into a golden streak that sped off into the distance.
The king seemed to want to say something but reluctantly nodded his head.
“Take care of yourself, Rita. You must return in three months, if not I will come find you myself.” After saying that, he turned into a golden streak as he followed his wife.
With her parent gone, Rita looked at Arthur who was stuck in a time loop, and could not help but sigh
“What a mess”
