PHASE 74 - NOT ON RIKKUN’S WATCH!

In front of us is a tall man with a slightly muscular body, more masculine than Rikkun. He has a long blue spiky hair that is tied in a ponytail. His familiar innocent blue eyes gazed upon my boyfriend with awe, and the outrageous smell of sweat overwrote the smell of dried blood in this prison.

He may be a little bit mature-looking, but this is definitely Heushac Efilion!

“Heya, Ric!” Heushac waved his hand to his friend.

“Heushac! I never would have thought that you’re also here!” Rikkun cried. He made a gentle punch straight to his best friend’s chest, which was immediately returned by the blue-haired ally. This gesture is something like their bro-code.

“I’m actually assigned in this part of the prison. Man, I also never thought that you’re here.” Heushac said. He looked around him and saw me, and then Jecchan. He didn’t recognize me a little bit since we’ve never met in this timeline before, but he sure remembers Jecchan a lot. “Oh, so you’re a Gate Guardian too. Did princess tsundere there enlighten you?”

“Shut up, you walking garbage geek,” Jecchan said. “Let’s get to the main point. Where’s your Legionmaster?”

“Legionmaster?” Rikkun and I slightly tilted our heads.

Suddenly, another familiar voice entered the chatroom… I mean the prison corridors. A group of familiar faces revealed themselves that made me a little bit anxious and guilty about resetting the timeline.

“Oh my. What do we have here?” A tall blonde beauty with green eyes walked like a pageant model. Her bouncy breast and thick hips made Jecchan’s eyes filled with disgust. Rikkun and my expression are more of a shock however as we saw her carefree but cunning aura.

“So you’re already here… Erylle.” Jecchan said. “I heard that you’re in charge of investigating the shadow last night.”

“Oh yes. My legion is already working hard on this matter, so rest assured. This case will be over soon.” Erylle said.

Erylle looked at me, then to Rikkun. Her gaze upon us seemed like a kind stranger, which drops the hint that this Erylle Fontaine is not the Outsider or the Frozen Soul we know. She’s the Erylle Fontaine of this timeline and universe.

“Oh, where are my manners. I should introduce myself and my group first.” Erylle bowed like a princess. “My name is Erylle Fontaine, the leader of the Blazing Heart Legion. Right here is Heushac Efilion, and I think you know him already.”

The red-haired girl that is holding a thick grimoire made a step forward, and she bowed. She is wearing a bizarre fashion like a gothic princess with a sprinkle of sparkly accessories. She’s also a familiar face and we immediately confirmed it when Erylle introduced her.

“This girl is the brains of my legion, Mianette Springfield.”

“Hiya~ Nice to meet you all!” The crimson-haired girl waved her hand. It’s hard to think that this very person is one of those New Order Generals back in the previous timeline.

Then another person stepped forward. This person is a short scrawny guy with black hair and brown eyes. His skin is pale white as if he hadn’t seen sunlight for the past years. Rikkun immediately had a sharp glare at the person which made him.

“And this is our new recruit~” Erylle smiled. “Come on, introduce yourself~”

“I-I…” This familiar man looks scared, especially when in front of Rikkun. He’s just mustering his courage just to speak. “I.. I’m Yohan Romanov. N-Nice to meet you…”

“Ahaha~” Erylle made a powerful pat on the innocent-looking Yohan that made him scream like a girl. “I’m sorry, our new recruit is still not used to see people.”

“E-Erylle… That’s not the case.” Yohan cried.

Rikkun finally gave out a smile and he even looked like he’s about to burst out laughing. He looked at me and then muttered the words only I can hear.

“He’s not him. This is a different one.”

“Y-Yeah,” I whispered back. “Yohan looks a little bit younger than the Fake Outsider.”

“Heushac also looked like a little bit older, and Mianette is younger. Only the Erylle in this timeline looks the same as the Erylle we know.”

“Auuuuu…” I cried as I held my forehead. “This is making my brain hurt.”

“Hmmm?” Erylle noticed me and Rikkun talking, and she couldn’t help but stare at us curiously. I even think that she heard us talking about timeline and stuff, and now she’s about to ask some questions.

Good thing Jecchan saved us by springing a question on her own.

“Erylle, one of my members, Tiara Hikari, is troubled about the news. Apparently, her step-sisters are on guard duty last night and they became the victims of this massacre. Do you know the names of Alice and Bella Solstice?”

“Oh, those sassy girls. We have finished investigating the bodies already, and they are at the morgue. I’m sorry we’re a little bit preoccupied in this investigation so I can’t go with you.” Erylle said. “Heushac, lead them.”

"Roger!" Heushac saluted.

<>

We left the members of the Blazing Heart Legion on the underground prison as we do not want to waste more of their time. They seem busy and taking this work seriously, and only Heushac has time to spare to accompany us to the morgue.

The morgue is at the backmost part of the mansion. When we went there, we saw a lot of bodies covered in white clothing. Only their faces are visible which makes it easier to identify the bodies. The room is tiled with white, and the bright led light made it a lot less eerie that most of the traditional morgue.

There’s only a handful of people there. Some of them are weeping upon seeing the dead bodies of their loved ones. Some are just staring at the lifeless faces. And others are a bit furious.

“Alice! Bella!” I immediately cried when I saw the dead faces of my step-sisters. I ran towards the beds and prayed for their souls.

Rikkun, Jecchan, and Heushac followed. All of a sudden, Rikkun’s watch fell down to the floor due to some sort of accident.

“Dammit,” Rikkun muttered as he went back.

However, when he’s about to pick his watch up, somebody stepped on it. It was a crystal heeled shoe, and the feet that wear it are a little bit old.

“HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR PITIFUL UGLY PUPPY FACE, YOU PIECE OF TURDY BITCH!!!”

The serenity of the morgue was shattered by a loud sharp voice. Hearing that tone made me envelop in fear as I saw my stepmother who tortured me in my early days. She is an old woman with a large mole on her left cheek, flaming eyes that can melt steel, and white curly aristocratic hair that made her look like a French noble. She is a cliched evil stepmom in fairy tales.

She is Catriona Baroquefloux, my father’s "(n)th" wife. (Seriously, I don't know how many wives my father had.) She is also the mother of the deceased Alice and Bella.

“M-Ma’am!?” I shrieked.

“I’M NOT YOUR MOM!” My step-mother roared like a lion. “Why the hell are you here?”

“I-I’m just visiting my step-sisters…”

“Shut up! That’s a rhetorical question!” She roared again. “Do me a favor and get the f*ck out!”

“B-But-”

Suddenly, my step-mom pushed me aside and hugged the bodies of her dead daughters. From this point of view, she looked like a snake that is heavily guarding her eggs.

“My poor beautiful Alice and Bella! Why did they suffer a horrible fate like this!” Stepmom cried. “It should’ve been Tiara! It should have been that turd who should die!”

I bowed down and held back my tears. My stepmom still hates me, and now even more than ever. “I-I’m sorry. Condolence-”

“I DON’T NEED YOUR SYMPATHY!”

I was immediately cut by a swift spank that is aimed at my left cheek. However, it was blocked by my knight in shining armor, Rikkun. He held the wrist of my stepmom to fully restrain her attack.

“Wha-!!!”

In an instant, Rikkun materialized his cybernetic Aether Armor on his hand and made a quick right hook straight to my stepmom’s cheek! My stepmom flew towards the cadaver of my stepsisters, making a whole lot of mess in this room!

“R-Rikkun!?” I cried.

My stepmom lay there, unconscious. Full of anger and hatred, Rikkun spitted on my evil stepmom’s face and made his cheesy remark.

“I’m sorry, old fart. You can never hurt my girlfriend.” Rikkun picked up the watch that has been stuck on my stepmom’s heel and then put it back to his wrist. “Not on my watch.”