Chapter 249: Gate

Merlinda, one of the Elite Ten of the succubi, came flying toward Shin, her eyes filled with despair.

"My king," she said, her voice trembling, "our queen has passed away... She’s... she’s convulsing. Something is terribly wrong."

"I understand. I’ll go take a look at her," Shin replied calmly. "Could you go and call Livia and Carolina for me? Don’t worry, I believe I know what is happening."

"As you wish." Merlinda bowed respectfully before immediately flying away.

Shin wasn’t surprised because he already expected this event; he just never knew the exact day this would happen. In the game, Vespera, the succubus queen, would always faint once the worlds were connected.

She would also recover her memories during this event.

And for one week, Shin would have the opportunity to return to the tower, while the worlds were still connected.

He hurried toward the queen’s chamber, as no one got in his way. The moment he stepped inside, he felt it.

An oppressive aura filled the room, so dense that the air itself seemed to tremble. Vespera was lying on the floor in the center of the chamber, as a few Succubi around her tried to take care of her.

"Everyone, leave; I will take care of it," Shin’s orders sounded loud like thunder, prompting the girls to fly away.

Meanwhile, Vespera’s body was convulsing violently. Every few seconds, an intense wave of magical energy erupted from her, spreading across the room before fading into the walls.

Shin’s eyes immediately moved toward the throne. As expected, it looked different now. The ancient runes carved into its surface had awakened, glowing faintly, and at the very top, a small depression had appeared, clearly designed to hold the Amazon Crown.

He knew the process: once they reached this chamber, Shin needed to place the Amazon Crown on the throne.

He removed the item from his dimensional ring, and carefully approached the ancient throne and placed it on top.

Click.

A faint sound echoed through the chamber, and five small depressions appeared around the base of the throne.

Exactly as he remembered.

He took out the five crystals he had collected previously in preparation and placed them into the corresponding slots.

The moment the last crystal was inserted, the entire throne began to glow.

Lines of magical energy spread across the floor, forming a complicated pattern around the throne. Several symbols appeared on the walls, followed by a series of mechanisms that Shin recognized immediately.

They were minigames the player needed to solve, to use the power of the throne. Most of them were more or less easy puzzles, but some of them were really annoying.

But he had already solved these puzzles countless times in the game, and even though the mechanisms were more impressive in reality, their logic remained the same.

In minutes, everything was done, and finally one final symbol lit up.

Then...

BOOM.

A pulse of magical energy erupted from the throne, forcing Shin to raise his arm to shield his face. When the light faded, the throne had begun transforming.

Its backrest stretched upward, while the stone around it shifted and unfolded, revealing the five crystals embedded within its structure. The Amazon Crown was slowly swallowed into the center as the entire structure continued expanding.

Within seconds, what had once been a throne no longer resembled a seat at all. The stone had transformed into a massive, ornate gate, its towering frame covered in glowing runes.

On the left side, a large crystal sphere emerged from the structure, floating within a metallic frame and glowing with a soft blue light.

Shin’s eyes naturally fell on Vespera once again; she was still in deep sleep, her body convulsing. He would need to wait for her to wake up to use the gate, as she was the only one with the permission to activate it.

Or so he thought...

Lilel, who had been sitting on his shoulder, suddenly froze. Her eyes looked at the gate, and her pupils began to glow.

"Lilel?" Shin shouted, noticing the change in her.

However, she didn’t answer; she couldn’t say anything, as her body began to tremble. Her whole body began to glow, and then she screamed.

"AAAAAAAH!" Lilel collapsed to her knees, falling from Shin’s shoulder, as she clutched her head in pain.

Shin immediately moved, catching her midair. He held her worriedly, as her body began to glow more and more.

"Lilel, are you okay?!" he asked, unsure of what was happening.

Meanwhile, the small fairy tried to keep conscious, as an enormous amount of information surged through her mind at once.

It was impossible to take in all of that at once, even for Lilel, who was a supercomputer. It felt like someone had suddenly opened the floodgates of an ocean and poured everything directly into her mind.

"Stop!" Guessing what was happening, Shin shouted. "You’re going to hurt yourself!"

But Lilel didn’t seem to hear him; her body shook violently... Then, just as suddenly, everything stopped.

"Fuck..." she murmured as she slowly lifted her head and recovered her consciousness. Her head was in extreme pain, and her body felt exhausted.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

For several seconds, she said nothing, but then she finally smiled, her eyes looking happy, as she had finally begun to figure things out.

"I understand it now..."

Shin frowned. "What do you understand?"

Lilel looked toward the throne, then she slowly escaped Shin’s hand and began floating around.

She finally landed on top of the gate, and instead of explaining, she decided to show how incredible she could be.

"Watch this," she commented, and with a snap of her fingers, the gate gained a new glow, and a semi-transparent aura filled its empty space.

Of course, Shin remembered the phenomenon from the game; the gate had just been activated.

"But it’s not only that," Lilel said with a smile. "I understand now who I am, and how I work... It’s been a long time, Teddy Bear."

Shin blinked in shock, hearing that pet name, and his eyes almost became teary, but he held back. He couldn’t believe it; he...

"It’s not time to get all emotional," she said, kicking his forehead with all of her little strength. "We have an opportunity right now. What do you think of ditching the system as a whole?"

Shin smiled softly, thinking that not caring about a reunion after all this time sounded just like Lisa.

"What do you mean by ditching the system?" He buried his feelings for now and asked.

"It’s exactly as it sounds. Instead of depending on the tower and the human system as your source of power, what about getting rid of it? Your plan up to here is really good, and it will be enough for you to arrive at the top of the tower, but..."

"If the Imperial Queen controls the system, I can never defeat her as long as I’m part of it."

Lilel... or better, Lisa nodded, and with a snap of her fingers, the color of the portal changed.

"So, what is your plan?" Shin asked.