Debuff Master-Chapter 875

“Pfft! Kekekeke!” Siegfried lost it after seeing Michele’s drastically different appearance. He understood the gravity of the situation, and laughing here was the last thing he was supposed to have done.

However, Michele’s transformation was simply too much for him to handle...

Unlike Oscar, who grew weary and frail yet maintained her looks, Michele looked completely different. He looked as if time had struck him full force without any mercy and aged twice as quickly.

He was no longer the frail, delicate young man Siegfried once knew. Instead, he was now a middle-aged man with a sharp aura that seemed to show just how irritated he was all the time. He looked like a ticking time bomb that could explode even at the smallest provocation.

The dark circles under his eyes were so prominent that they seemed to be screaming, “don’t you dare mess with me!”

Michele had the kind of face that would make anyone instinctively keep their distance from him.

“Hey, what the hell happened to you? Pfft! Kekeke!”

Siegfried could not stop himself from laughing as he pointed at Michele, who now resembled an overworked middle-aged office worker.

Michele used to boast that he would never age, which was precisely the reason why Siegfried could not help but find it hilariously ironic after seeing his unrecognizable look.

“Are you... really laughing right now? After being gone for twenty years...?” Michele muttered under his breath, his voice sounding as cold as ice.

“Of course I’m laughing! Should I be crying? Kekeke!”

“You’re still that same fucking brat,” Michele spat out venomously. Then, he growled, “Disappearing for twenty years and showing up exactly how you looked like. I guess you were lucky enough to escape from time’s wrath.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get hit nearly as bad as you. Kekeke.”

“You damn bast—!” Michele gnashed his teeth in frustration. Then, he finally exploded, “When are you ever going to grow up?! You’ve been gone for twenty years after getting swept away by some storm, and you’re acting like everything is exactly the same as you left them?! Do you even realize the state we’re in right now? And yet here you are, laughing like a fool—”

“Hey, I told you I’ll fix it,” Siegfried cut him off. Then, his face suddenly turned serious as he continued, “You think I wanted to leave? You think I asked to get swept up by that storm while trying to save the world? Do you really think I wanted my daughter to turn into a delinquent that eventually locked her own mother up in a tower?”

“...”

“What’s done is done. We can’t change the past, no matter what. I know you’ve been through a lot, but stop pushing it. Do you think I’m not upset? Do you think this is easy for me?”

Siegfried laughed after seeing Michele’s face, which was too funny not to laugh, but that did not mean he found the current situation to be amusing or anything like that.

He felt just as troubled and unsettled after witnessing the world he once knew and the people within it change so much. His life became chaotic after meeting all of them, but those times were, without a doubt, happy times for him.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you again. I’m grateful for all your hard work.”

“Shut up.”

Michele’s tone was as sharp as ever, and he even turned his back on Siegfried without hesitation.[1]

‘This punk... He looks like a geezer now, but his attitude hasn’t changed even one bit.’

Michele had his abilities recognized and retained his rank as prime minister[2] even after Verdandi ascended the throne.

In other words, he was still buried under mountains of paperwork even after the kingdom’s ruler changed.

However, he tirelessly worked to feed information and fund the operations of the Resistance, all while fulfilling his role as the prime minister.

He was, without a doubt, the Proatine Kingdom’s most loyal servant.

And perhaps that was the reason but...

“Hey, are you crying?” Siegfried asked after noticing Michele’s shoulders trembling.

“Who’s crying? Don’t talk to me; you’re annoying.”

“Oh, come on. You totally look like you’re crying.”

“Please shut up.”

“This punk,” Siegfried muttered with a smirk.

He could not help but find Michele to be cute in his own ways right now, but he did not approach to console him. The Michele he once knew was a boy in his late teens, but now, he was now a man in his late thirties, which made him feel slightly awkward.

‘Everything’s a freaking mess...’ Siegfried thought, shaking his head. He then turned to Oscar and asked, “So, what’s the plan now?”

“We must execute a two-pronged operation, Your Majesty. First, we rescue Her Majesty the Queen while simultaneously storming the palace and subduing Her Highness the Princess,” Oscar replied.

“Hmm...”

“We will be crushed almost instantaneously if we do not act simultaneously.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

The Verdandi in this timeline had already reached the rank of Master, so speed was of the essence in this operation.

“We will need to settle everything in one go,” Siegfried said.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“But the real problem is time...”

[Alert: 21 hours, 19 minutes, and 31 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 21 hours, 19 minutes, and 30 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 21 hours, 19 minutes, and 29 seconds remaining!]

Time was ticking away.

Siegfried only had twenty-one hours to rescue Brunhilde while overthrowing Verdandi at the same time.

Failure meant that the raid would end in failure, causing the Eastern Great Rift to rampage and unleash a catastrophic disaster upon the world.

“Let’s start planning things in detail,” Siegfried said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Oscar replied with a bow.

***

One silver lining was that there were quite a few powerful individuals among the members of the Resistance led by Oscar.

These were people who had been active during the days when Siegfried was still in power. The Proatine Kingdom was a new fledgling kingdom back then, and they faced countless wars.

However, their days were filled with happiness, and these individuals still yearned for those good old days.

“How many do we have?” Siegfried asked.

“Approximately two thousand five hundred, Your Majesty,” Oscar replied.

“That will be enough to seize the palace.”

A force of two thousand five hundred elite troops was more than enough, as the number of royal guards protecting the Proatine Kingdom’s royal palace was relatively modest.

“How long will it take to mobilize them?”

“Three hours at most, sire.”

“Perfect. Time isn’t exactly on our side, so we must act with haste.”

“Pardon me, sire?”

Siegfried had no other choice but to lie to Oscar. After all, the truth would not make any sense even if he told her, so there was no reason for him to cause confusion, especially when time was precious.

“I’ve only temporarily escaped from the dimensional storm. I have less than twenty-one hours left, so we must rescue Brunhilde and subdue Verdandi within that time.”

“Then does that mean... Will Your Majesty disappear once again...?” Oscar asked, looking uneasy.

“No,” Siegfried shook his head in response. Then, he explained, “The past will change if everything goes according to plan and I set things right.”

“S-Sire?”

“I will successfully quell the rampaging Eastern Great Rift. If that happens, I’ll never have gone missing in the first place, and the world will avoid this catastrophe. Also, the invasion of the angels will be delayed.”

“...!”

“In that case, this moment and the past twenty years you have experienced will disappear.”

“D-Do you mean that—”

“We will go back twenty years in time.”

“Is that... even possible, sire?” Oscar asked, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and hope.

“Yes, it is, Oscar. But the moment this mission succeeds, the past will be rewritten. No one will remember this moment, and it will become a history that never happened,” Siegfried added.

At that moment, Hamchi shook his head in disbelief.

‘Wow, your lying skills have really reached a whole new level. How can you lie so easily, owner punk?’

Hamchi was aware that this was merely a dungeon created by the Eastern Great Rift, so he could see right through Siegfried’s made-up story.

However, Oscar and Michele believed every word he said, as they were just a part of the dungeon.

“It is fine, sire. Not a single day has brought me joy for the past twenty years, so I would rather forget about them,” Oscar said firmly.

“If we can tear apart this wretched reality and rebuild it all over again, who cares if I don’t remember any of it? In fact, that would be a blessing. I’d gladly do anything if it means I can forget these hellish years.” Michele nodded and agreed.

Their responses offered a glimpse of just how harrowing the last twenty years had been for them.

“It seems we have coincidentally chosen the perfect timing,” Michele added.

“What do you mean by that?” Siegfried asked.

“Her Highness is supposed to go watch a match at the coliseum tonight.”

“Oh?”

“We could use that opportunity to rescue Her Majesty the Queen from the Tower of Eternity and subdue the princess upon her return to the palace.”

“Not bad.”

A plan was taking shape in Siegfried’s mind. They would rescue Brunhilde while Verdandi was away and then ambush her upon her return to the palace.

This was indeed a sound strategy.

“You can open the palace gates for us, right?” Siegfried asked, looking at Michele.

“Certainly,” Michele replied confidently.

“Then, gather the Resistance, Oscar.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will send word immediately.”

“Then while Verdandi is spectating the match...” Siegfried explained the plan he had in mind.

***

That night, a grand event was taking place at the Coliseum of Bloodshed, which was a massive arena located in the capital city of the Proatine Kingdom, Preussen.

An enormous crowd swarmed the venue, but not all of them were there to have fun.

It was well-known that the construction of this arena cost almost half of the kingdom’s annual budget at that time, and it was a colossal project that nearly obliterated the kingdom’s economy.

The people of Proatine disliked—no, it was more proper to say that they outright loathed the Coliseum of Bloodshed.

The financial strain from its construction left the economy in ruins, but not only that, countless people perished in the process of constructing it due to lacking safety requirements.

And yet, here they were, walking into the very place that they loathed.

Why? Because mandatory attendance was decreed for all citizens of Preussen. They were required to attend matches at the arena whenever they were called upon, and they would have to come on a shift rotation as if they worked there.

But what if they refused?

Death.

Anyone who dared not to show up would be executed for going against a royal decree.

‘Damn it...’ Michele thought bitterly as he gazed down at the coliseum.

At that moment, he was slightly comforted after remembering that this nightmare would all end tonight. If the coup succeeded and Siegfried managed to rewrite the past, the hellish twenty years he and the Proatine Kingdom had to endure would be completely erased from history.

“Her Royal Majesty!”

At that moment, the chief chamberlain’s voice boomed throughout the coliseum, heralding the arrival of Verdandi van Proa.

Thud!

As soon as she entered, all one hundred thousand people filling the coliseum stood to greet the tyrant.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was observing from high above in the night sky using his Black Crow Wingsuit. His plan was to bide his time here and fly to the palace the moment the match began, bringing everything to a crescendo.

‘How much has she changed?’

His heart pounded while observing from above.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

The thought of seeing his daughter, Verdandi, who had grown into a tyrant of all things, sent a chilling sensation that pervaded his chest.

And then, about five seconds later...

Click... Clack...!

The sound of high heels echoed as a stunningly slender and beautiful woman appeared.

‘W-What?!’

Siegfried froze in shock after finally seeing his grown-up daughter, who now seemed like an entirely different person.

She was wearing skinny jeans that clung to her skin, making her figure far too obvious. A short with a neckline so deep it left little to the imagination. A leather jacket that appeared to be made from the hide of a black dragon.

On top of that, she was wearing far too many accessories that probably numbered in the dozens.

Last but not the least, which also was the final blow to Siegfried, her pointy elven ears were heavily pierced with menacing piercings.

The sweet and adorable Verdandi that he once knew was nowhere to be found. All that remained was an incredibly beautiful but extremely dangerous-looking young woman in her early twenties.

‘N-No! No! No! Noooo!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly.

He felt his mental state deteriorating rapidly the longer he looked at her. No matter how rebellious she was bound to become after growing up, this was just too far.

As a father, Siegfried could not and would not allow his daughter, Verdandi, to go on this path. Regardless of whether she was real or fabricated by the Eastern Great Rift.

1. In Asian medieval culture, a subject turning their back without being dismissed was a grave offense. ☜

2. Author specifically wrote retained. Maybe he was promoted somewhere along the way... unless I’m being a goldfish and forgot? ☜