Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 130 -: 129 Completing the quest.[2]

"Hmm...?"

He glanced down at Rosalina in his hand, his eyes narrowing just a little as a thought crossed his mind.

A quiet hum left his lips as he kept running.

"Why do you ask?" he said, his voice calm but filled with quiet curiosity.

Rosalina didn’t reply at once.

Her brows were drawn into a small frown, her eyes slowly scanning the forest around them.

It was strange... she had been here all this time, yet only now something felt off.

Maybe it was because Julius had been so sure of everything, so confident, that she never stopped to think.

But now, the feeling wouldn’t go away.

She took a slow breath and lowered her voice.

"Don’t you think this place is... incredible?" she said softly.

"It feels like a world of its own..."

Julius kept running for a few more steps, the sound of explosions still echoing behind him.

The edge of the forest was close now, light could be seen breaking through the trees ahead.

Then...

He stopped.

His feet came to a sudden halt, and the ground went still beneath him.

Slowly, his gaze shifted down to her again, his expression tightening into a small, suspicious frown.

"Why do you say that?" he asked quietly.

Rosalina shifted a little in his arms so she could look straight up at his face.

The glow from the distant fires danced across her cheeks.

She still wore that serious, thoughtful expression.

"I only noticed it just now," she said slowly.

"You seemed so sure about everything here... so I didn’t question it before. But now it suddenly hit me."

She paused, then added in almost a whisper, "Are you certain the lone king was a void core specialist?"

Rosalina stroked her chin slowly. Her eyes narrowed as she thought hard.

She lowered her voice and spoke quietly, almost in a whisper.

"You see, my father is a peak void core expert in the illusory path," she said.

Her voice shook a little when she mentioned her father.

A quick flash of malice crossed her face, but she quickly pushed it away and continued.

"The thing is... you told me the lone king was at the 4th heavenly trial, right?"

Julius glanced down at her but kept running.

They had put a good distance between themselves and the explosions.

The forest exit was now very close.

Once they stepped out, the quest would be complete. Still, he slowed his pace a little and nodded.

"Yes," he replied.

Rosalina gave a small nod to herself, satisfied with his answer.

She took a deep breath and spoke again.

"If he was only at the 4th heavenly trial and specialized in the time path, don’t you think it’s impossible for him to create a place like this?"

She looked around at the strange forest as embers floated through the air and landed softly on the snow around them.

"My father is a master of illusions, but even he couldn’t create something like this."

"To make a whole world of its own, you would need a great expert in the space path, plus masters of the illusory path and the reality path."

"It’s impossible for a time path expert at just the 4th heavenly trial to do something like this..."

She lowered her gaze to the snow-covered ground, watching the glowing embers drift down around them while Julius carried her forward.

Julius’s face changed as well. The same doubt now clouded his eyes.

Come to think of it, he had been treating this whole place like a novel, where everything just seemed to make sense without question.

Now that Rosalina had pointed it out, the pieces no longer fit.

He could finally see daylight through the gaps between the trees ahead.

The explosions behind them were slowing down, but his mind was racing faster than ever.

"You... are right," he said at last, his voice low and serious.

"If the lone king was only at the 4th heavenly trial, it would be impossible for him to create a place like this."

"It feels just like the 101 Treasure Tower back in the Four Stationary Continents." He spoke as thoughts started circle his mind.

’I didn’t think much about it before because in the novel the protagonist simply entered, took whatever reward was inside, and moved on. So I thought it wasn’t important. But now...’

"We are out," Rosalina said suddenly, cutting through his thoughts.

They had finally stepped out of the North Grave Forest.

The trees ended abruptly, and the ground opened up into a high, rocky cliff area.

A narrow wooden bridge stretched between two steep cliffs, swaying gently in the cold wind.

Beyond the bridge lay nothing but open sky and distant mountains.

Julius gently placed Rosalina down on her feet. He looked around carefully.

There were no people in sight.

Once they crossed that bridge, the quest would automatically complete and they would return to reality.

But right now, returning was the last thing on their minds.

Julius broke the silence, his voice heavy with suspicion.

"This tower was made to achieve something..." he said slowly.

"And it’s definitely not just about handing over the inheritance. That’s for sure."

"You are right," Rosalina nodded slowly.

They had thought this place was an inheritance ground when they first entered.

But after coming this far, they both realized it was something else entirely.

Whatever it was, it didn’t feel good, at least not for them. That much was certain.

"I think the lone king has some connection with the Zlycons," Julius said.... This tower was a lot like the 101 treasure tower, so if it was like the treasure tower then....the lone king definitely has some connections with them.

He took a careful step onto the old wooden bridge.

The planks creaked loudly under his armored boots, and the cold wind tugged at his cloak.

Rosalina nodded in agreement and followed right behind him.

"Yes. If what you say is true, then he definitely has something to do with the Zlycons."

She looked around at the empty cliffs and the swaying bridge, her face shining with certainty.

"And this tower... it was built to achieve something much bigger."

The moment both of them stepped fully onto the bridge, the world around them shifted.

[Congratulations! You have passed the 8th floor.]

A deep, mechanical voice echoed in their minds. Julius and Rosalina stopped in their tracks and looked ahead.

"Whatever it is, we will find out soon once we reach the 10th floor," Julius said with a small smile.

"Yeah," Rosalina nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment, steadying herself.

[Now that the 9th floor, which was not an individual or team-based quest, has been cleared, you will be sent directly to the 10th floor. Good luck.]

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The familiar rushing sound filled the air again.

Bright white light suddenly surrounded them, along with a loud humming noise.

Beeeeep!!

Julius and Rosalina were transported away in an instant.

However, before they could even adjust to the new environment...

[Mom... Mom... can you hear me...? Mom... listen... the regression ability isn’t working!!!]