I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 281: War for Survival (5)

The sky was being completely devoured by the growing rift.

Those who looked up could only collapse to the ground in despair.

No one had ever witnessed a calamity like this before—

Yet everyone instinctively understood what was happening.

The world of the evil gods has connected to the present...!

The “end” foretold in the legends of every race.

A dimensional gate would open, the world would be engulfed in darkness,

And the evil gods would cross over—

Shattering everything like playthings.

That prophesied doomsday was now unfolding before their eyes.

[Kuhahaha...! You too shall taste destruction!]

The ancient being let out an uncontrollable cackle.

He had long since acquired the coordinates to the realm of the evil gods.

But opening a dimensional gate was far too dangerous, so he had kept it classified... until now.

Now is the time to open it.

There may be others like me who transferred their consciousness into machines and lie dormant beneath the earth. I’ll be destroyed here—but I’ll pass the baton to them!

His auto-defense system had already been destroyed.

His limbs had been severed. His battery was nearly depleted.

There was no chance of victory left.

His only option was to gamble on another ancient one who might still be buried underground.

But the problem was—these so-called "savages," who were only supposed to have medieval-level technology, were far too strong.

So he would reset their civilization.

Once an evil god descended, magic, aura—everything would be obliterated.

Humanity would be reduced to primitives once more.

And then, when another ancient awoke, opening the time capsules would be child’s play.

"Yuri! Destroy that tin can now!"

"Ah, yes!"

The ancient’s gaze remained fixed on the sky, motionless.

It seemed concentration was required to maintain the dimensional gate.

The moment Aslan finished his deduction and gave the order, Yuri charged in and swung her sword—

But the alloy of the machine’s skull easily deflected the blade.

"Rrghhh! I’m dying here but—Rapid Stabbing...!"

Charlotte, barely conscious and crawling from mana exhaustion, managed to generate a small aura and thrust the Jittery Jittery Sword downward.

But even that couldn’t pierce the alloy of the ancient civilization.

Even when Vanessa joined in, limping and wounded, the result was the same.

They dismantled its limbs and torso until they were little more than dust—

But the skull, where the core resided, remained unbroken.

"Why... Why won’t it break...?!"

To make matters worse, their weapons had all bent and shattered.

Everyone had used up their mana and stamina—every combatant had collapsed.

The only one still standing was Yuri.

Thanks to her healing ability, she couldn’t even collapse.

"Ahhh...!"

Above them, colossal hands had begun reaching down from the sky.

One, two, three... and then more, and more—

Until a multitude of hands were descending from the heavens, covering the entire sky.

There was no malice. No emotion.

But the moment those hands touched the ground, everyone instinctively knew—

Everything humanity had built would be destroyed.

It was truly the end—

[...!?]

Suddenly, a rattling groan echoed through the darkness.

And one by one, the hands began retracting—

As if something were pulling them back into the void.

[The evil god 'Kali' says she’ll buy you some time &%$!&@%$...]

As the text appeared in front of him, Aslan shivered.

It was Kali.

Kali was holding back the other evil gods from crossing over.

Thanks to her, we’ve bought some time. But we have to destroy that tin can while she’s holding the line...

But the situation remained dire.

Though the ancient’s skull was chipped and scratched, the alloy plating was intact.

Neither sharp blades nor powerful aura had worked.

Maybe Charlotte’s Boom Boom Thunderclap could pierce it?

...But now that her mana was depleted, that was no longer an option.

If no form of force could break it—

Then there was only one option left.

Aslan called out to Yuri, who was still hammering away at the ancient’s skull.

"Yuri. Stop for a moment."

"But time’s running out! I have to destroy it now—!"

"I’m going to tell you how to destroy it. So calm down first."

"Hah... haahh...!"

Yuri looked back at Aslan, her face clearly panicked.

Her eyes were filled with urgency, fear, and guilt.

She was overwhelmed.

She needed to breathe and regain control of herself.

"Are you calm now?"

"Yes..."

"Listen carefully. We can now confirm that none of our remaining forces can break through that alloy. Would you agree?"

"Yes. That’s correct."

"Then aside from brute force, what do we have left? Only your ability."

"I’ve already tried ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) it. I touched its head just in case—but the plating is too thick. I couldn’t reach whatever’s inside."

"You couldn’t reach it? That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, does it?"

"...?"

Aslan gave her a knowing smile.

Yuri tilted her head in confusion.

Yuri’s ability only worked on living beings.

But the definition of a “living being” was vague.

It wasn’t limited to humans—it worked on animals.

Not just organic life—it also worked on spirits.

So Aslan’s conclusion was this:

“If it has intelligence, regardless of form, it counts.”

If that was true...

Then her ability could work even on an ancient whose mind had been transferred into a machine.

And that theory had been proven correct.

"Yes. That’s right. But even if it does work—what good would it do?"

"The thing’s memory has been so corrupted, it doesn’t even remember itself."

"Memory...?"

"Think of it as ‘recall.’ If your ability could fully restore its memory, then it would essentially ‘start over’ as a person. And in doing so, lose its concentration and be unable to maintain the gate."

"I understand the logic—but my ability’s range is too small. I can’t reach past that thick shell. What do I do?"

"Well... that’s for you to figure out now."

"...Excuse me?"

Aslan placed his hand gently on her head with a smile.

Yuri was dumbfounded.

Wasn’t he about to tell her how to do it?

"What exactly do you mean, Count?"

"I mean, I don’t know. When you first awakened your power, no one taught you how, right? You discovered it on your own. This is no different."

"Are you saying I need to awaken an aura now?"

"I don’t know if it’ll be aura or something else. But clinging to the idea that it has to be aura will only hinder you. That’s the one piece of advice I can give."

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

"Ugh...!"

Yuri felt like screaming.

The world was about to end, and he was giving her riddles?

Grinding her teeth in frustration, she suddenly noticed—

Sylvia was watching her in silence.

And not just Sylvia.

Her Majesty. The Grand Duke. Charlotte. Irene. And even from a distance—Yulia.

They were all looking at her.

All staking their final hopes on her.

I still don’t get it. What am I supposed to awaken...?

The pressure was suffocating.

She could barely breathe. Her chest felt tight.

But the feeling was familiar.

She had always fought under this weight.

She had carried Charlotte and Yulia’s lives on her back—marched forward under that burden.

All that had changed...

Was that she now bore the hopes of all humanity.

But her role? It hadn’t changed at all.

Realizing that, her narrowed vision cleared. Her breath grew steady.

Honestly, I never even understood why I awakened healing powers to begin with...

That first awakening had been so random.

Healing? For someone like her, who was only good at fighting?

She’d barely used the ability. Only ever to heal her own wounds.

So whatever came next would probably be an extension of that power.

But what would that be? She couldn’t even begin to imagine.

"I don’t know... I don’t know anything...!"

Even so—

Yuri gripped the hilt of her broken sword and stepped forward.

Her first awakening had come by accident.

She’d only vaguely thought, I want to heal Aslan’s wound...

And then, it had happened.

So she didn’t need to overthink the second one either.

I want to save everyone...!

If she needed it—

If she wished for it with everything she had—

And if fate allowed it—

Then that power would come to her, naturally.

"Even so, I’ll do everything I can!"

Rubbing her engagement ring, Yuri stepped forward and swung her broken blade.

From its hilt, a brilliant white aura burst forth.

An aura that pierced rock, flesh, and earth—

And stretched out endlessly in all directions.

As Yuri swung her sword wide, the aura swept across the land.

Where it passed, the barren wasteland vanished—

Replaced by green grass and blooming flowers, a land of life.

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[...]

It was like seeing the Preserve before the war.

A world where civilization and nature still coexisted.

A vision he had thought he would never see again—

Now filled the ancient’s gaze.

And in the very next instant, the aura engulfed his skull.

Rather than cutting through the alloy, the aura seeped inside.

It wasn’t an aura of destruction, but of healing.

It regenerated the decayed memory chip—

And restored every memory the ancient had forgotten.

Ah... that’s right. I started studying science... to restore a broken world...

Like a flash of light, his long-lost memories returned.

The hopes he once dreamed of as a child...

A fatal error occurred.

His skull twitched once—

And that was the end.

The ancient’s core shut down.

"Ah! The sky...!"

Rumble.

The rift in the sky began closing rapidly.

Soon, the darkness was gone—

And the blue returned.

"Hah..."

The sky looked so peaceful, like nothing had happened.

But when Aslan looked down—

The world around him had changed.

It was hard to believe this was still the Demon Zone.

A stunned laugh escaped him.