How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game-Chapter 388: Alice Holloway End (Interlude)

It's Over… Right?

My mind was hazy.

My head ached.

My body was wracked with pain.

Yet—despite that—

I forced my consciousness to remain alert.

To remain active.

I needed to see.

The attack Senior and I unleashed—

It landed.

There was no way she could have dodged that.

No way she could have blocked.

No way she could have deflected.

It was— really over now….

And then—

Ding!

A flood of notifications filled my vision.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DEFEATED A BEING ABOVE THE MORTAL REALMS!!!]

[Bonus Points Awarded: +50]

[You've Achieved the Impossible! Bonus Points Awarded: +10]

[Congratulations! All Basic Skills Will Automatically Advance to the Next Realm!]

[Congratulations! A New Energy Has Been Born Inside of You!]

→ [Energy of the White Queen Acquired!]

→ [Energy of the Red Queen Acquired!]

[Congratulations! Your Base Level Has Now Surpassed the Threshold Placed Upon the World!]

[Additional Bonus Points Awarded!]

[Effects of [Blessing of Change] Shall Now Be Terminated.]

[Ultimate Skill: Divine Will—Bonus Effect Will Now Return to Its Original State.]

→ [Fantastical Entity Effect Bonus] → [Evil Entity Effect Bonus]

[Evil and Fantastical Beings Now Applicable for Bonus Skill Effect of Divine Null.]

[Bonus Effects Shall Now Be Terminated.]

[All Bonus Status Effects and Skill Effects Shall Now Return to Normal.]

[Note: Status Has Now Returned to Normal.]

[All Temporary Status Effects Have Been Removed.]

[Temporary Level: 894] → [Base Level: 176]

I let out a slow breath.

I was back.

Back to my original self.

The overwhelming power that surged through me just moments ago—Gone.

The unnatural energy that had altered my very existence—was also gone now…

I swallowed; my throat dry.

My arms trembled as I struggled to remain standing.

As my normal stats returned, the weight of exhaustion slammed into me like a collapsing mountain.

Drowsiness—heavy, suffocating, inescapable.

Just opening my eyes felt like a thousand piercing needles stabbing into my skin.

Every breath felt like dragging my body through molten lead.

Both my mind and body struggled against my stubbornness.

I needed to rest.

I desperately needed to rest.

But—

[Note: The Blessing of the Great Primordial of Darkness Has Now Been Recorded in User's Soul History…]

[Note: User Is Now Loved by the Darkness and Death…]

[Note: Death Wishes to sp!@#!@##@$@#$!]

[System Error! Foreign Message Will Now Be Terminated…]

Huh…?

I didn't have time to process it.

That strange message.

What did it even mean?

I couldn't think.

My body was weak. My mind continued to fade….

I felt myself falling…. Deep into an expanse of darkness.

My eyes—closing.

'Shit…'

Falling asleep here would be dangerous, the last embers of my mana was protecting me but even I can't survive in a vacuum like this…

Then—

"J-Junior!"

That voice…

I knew that voice.

Even in my hazy consciousness, I recognized it.

Senior… Alice.

She was here.

How?

Why?

A thousand questions surfaced—

But I had no answers.

I barely had the strength to think.

I forced my eyes to stay open, just a little longer.

Through my half-lidded gaze, I saw her face—

Tears.

Streaming down her cheeks.

Her golden eyes—filled with relief, with worry.

She was crying.

But she was alive.

She was safe.

And somehow, that was enough.

'I'm glad…'

I saved her.

I really saved her.

The process behind it wasn't what I wanted.

It wasn't clean. It wasn't perfect.

But in the end… I still saved her.

Then, suddenly—a realization struck me.

That's right…

Without her, I would've died back there.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Even now, even after everything—

She saved me. Again.

I thought I was the one protecting her…

But in reality, it was her who pulled me back from the brink.

Slowly, my eyelids grew heavier.

The world around me faded.

Then—

"C-Cheshire, hurry!!!!"

"I'm on it!"

Their voices—frantic, hurried, real.

They were arguing again.

Bantering, even in a moment like this.

Somehow, that made me feel relieved.

Everything was really over now.

The White Queen was truly defeated.

The damned fate of death placed upon Senior Alice—erased.

I had won.

We had won.

And as my consciousness slipped further away—

I felt something.

Warmth.

A tight embrace.

Alice.

She was holding me.

My shoulders felt damp.

Was she crying?

I wanted to tell her to stop.

To tell her, "I'm fine."

But…

Right now…

Couldn't I rest?

Wasn't it okay to finally rest?

Before I knew it, my subconscious gave up.

I let go.

I sank into the depths of sleep.

But in that darkness…

I felt something.

Comfort.

Warm, gentle, all-encompassing.

A presence wrapping around me, holding me.

And then—

A vision.

Senior Alice.

Not the crying Alice from before.

The Alice I knew.

The one who smiled so radiantly, so confidently.

And then—

More faces appeared.

One by one.

Snow.

Rose.

Seo.

Mother.

Father.

Reina.

And all the people I'd met so far.

Their faces, their voices, their warmth—

They lingered in my mind.

Even as the darkness swallowed me whole— I knew.

I wasn't alone.

There were forces in this world—forces so vast and incomprehensible—that even the most powerful beings in the universe couldn't keep up with them.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

And one of those forces… was the fragility of a sane and healthy mind.

The battle had lasted only minutes—at best.

But to me…?

It felt like a thousand years had passed.

Yet despite it all, I smiled.

I felt comfortable with the outcome I had achieved.

This wasn't the happy ending I had sought.

Not for me.

But for Alice… this was happiness.

And for now, that was enough.

Because this was only the beginning.

Then, suddenly—

I saw her.

The White Queen.

Not the tyrant I had fought.

Not the goddess of calamity who had bent reality itself against me.

But… someone else.

Someone gentler.

Her face was softer now, her white eyes filled not with rage or cruelty—

But with something else.

Something human.

And beside her…

A child.

A young Alice.

No older than six or ten years old.

A fragile, innocent girl held carefully in the White Queen's arms.

She was cradling her as if she were something precious—

Something irreplaceable.

I didn't know why I was seeing this.

I didn't know why the White Queen's image appeared before me now—

But I could tell…

This wasn't out of malice.

I stepped forward.

And the White Queen stood still.

She didn't resist.

She didn't move.

I didn't know if this was an illusion…

Or a fragmented reality that she had left behind.

But one thing was clear.

The White Queen—

No… the woman before me…

She wanted something.

She wanted assurance.

I stepped forward, reaching out my hand—

Not to the White Queen.

But to the child beside her.

The young Alice, no more than six or ten, stood quietly by her side.

She was fragile. Small. Innocent.

And yet, the moment I touched her—

The moment my fingers clasped her tiny hands—

She began to change.

The child transformed into the Alice I knew today—

The Alice who had fought beside me, cried beside me, lived beside me.

We held hands.

We smiled at each other.

Then, together—

We turned to face the White Queen.

She didn't move.

She didn't react.

She only stared at us, her white eyes unreadable—

Until, finally…

She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

Then, in a voice that held no hatred, no cruelty, no malice…

She spoke.

"Please… take care of my daughter."

A part of me had expected something else.

A final threat.

A desperate plea for revenge.

But instead—

She sounded warm.

Like a mother…

A real, caring, worried mother.

I chuckled softly.

Not because I found it funny—

But because I suddenly realized…

This was never a battle between a hero and a villain.

Not really.

"Don't worry," I told her, my voice steady.

"I'll take care of her."

I turned to Alice, squeezing her hand gently.

"I love her the most, after all."

Some might say the White Queen and Alice were destined to be enemies.

That the moment they met, their fates were written in blood—

An unbreakable cycle of hatred and destruction.

But to me…

They were nothing more than a mother and her child.

Twisted by the hands of fate.

And then—

For the first time…

The White Queen smiled.

She even laughed—a quiet, almost bittersweet laugh.

It felt surreal.

Because in my mind, she had always been the final boss.

An epilogue villain who existed only to bring ruin.

But now—

She was just a mother.

A mother who had found peace.

As she gave one final nod, the world around us began to glow.

A pure, brilliant white light expanded across everything.

And before I could say another word—

Darkness took me.

My consciousness finally fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

.....

"Master... I've already taken care of some of the remnants. Most of them are still resisting, but… it's over now. You can take it easy and relax for now. I'll make sure none of them interrupt you two~"

"Thank you, Cheshire."

Cheshire grinned at his master's calm response.

A part of him wanted to tease her, maybe poke fun at the way she was holding onto the boy so delicately, but... he'd let them have their moment.

They deserved it.

After everything that had happened, after the chaos and the close calls, they had finally reached the end of it all.

Especially him—the young man sleeping so soundly on Alice's lap, his face peaceful, his breathing soft and steady.

Alice's fingers moved gently through Riley's hair, brushing away stray strands as if making sure he was real, as if making sure he wouldn't disappear the moment she looked away.

Cheshire hovered for a moment longer, watching them with an unreadable look before finally flying off into the distance.

There was still work to do.

The last remnants of the White Queen's army needed to be taken care of, and he wasn't about to let a single one of them slip away.

It had only been a few minutes since they successfully teleported back into the White Realm.

The battle was over.

Everything had ended. And for the first time in what felt like forever, everything was... fine.

Alice exhaled, her fingers trembling slightly as they traced gentle patterns against Riley's cheek.

Relief.

Sadness.

Anger.

Happiness.

Worry.

Pain.

Love.

She felt all of them at once. It was overwhelming, yet somehow, it made perfect sense.

She had been so willing—so ready—to throw herself away for his sake. And yet, in the end, it was Riley who had saved her.

Her heart thumped with every gentle touch she gave, her fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against his cheek.

"You're really unfair… Junior…"

Thump—!

Thump—!

"As if making me fall for you wasn't already hard enough… and now you're making me feel this way while you're just sleeping so peacefully… At least take responsibility, will you…?"

A bitter chuckle escaped her lips, but it didn't last long. Before she knew it, tears had started falling, one after another, trailing down her face and landing softly onto Riley's skin.

"I know you're fine, but…"

Her heart clenched painfully as the memory resurfaced—Riley, bruised and bleeding, pushing himself to his absolute limit just to save her.

His exhausted eyes, the way his body nearly collapsed under the sheer weight of his mana depletion...

She hated it. She hated that he always had to suffer for her sake.

"Please wake up soon, Junior…"

Her voice was barely a whisper, carried away by the stillness of the room.

She embraced him tightly, as if afraid he would slip away the moment she let go. Then, with a trembling breath, she leaned in and pressed a small, soft kiss against his forehead.

"I love you, Riley… Rest well, okay?"

With great care, she lifted him using her telekinetic red energy, holding him as gently as if he were something fragile, irreplaceable.

Slowly, she stood up and carried him to a proper bed, laying him down with the utmost care.

She knew she should help Cheshire.

The remnants of the White Queen's army were still out there, and even if they were inside the fortified castle, neglecting the battlefield was never a good idea.

It wasn't over until every last threat was gone.

And yet—

It's fine to rest now, right? Cheshire already guaranteed their safety… It's fine to be selfish just this once again, right?

She sat down beside Riley, her thoughts wavering between duty and the warmth of his presence.

In the end, her heart made the choice for her.

Slowly, she shifted onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him once more, burying her face in his chest as she let herself fall into his warmth.

She closed her eyes.

A quiet promise formed within her heart.

'I won't leave your side ever again.'

All her selfishness, all her love—everything she had left to give—would belong to him alone.