The huge tree was burnt during Allen and Alkrasha’s battle but fortunately, the inside wasn’t thoroughly destroyed and with a bit of cleaning, it could already be called a proper room.

Alkrasha dealt with the aftermath of the battle and ordered her minions to clean the mess outside.

Unlike Allen whose body was so battered, he could barely move, Alkrasha possessed a high-level self-healing ability and little by little, her injuries gradually healed.

With the use of some plant related ability, she slowly restored the whole forest by quickening the growth of the plants and trees in the surrounding.

She even restored the huge tree’s appearance using an unknown ability that stole a life from something and giving it to other. Using this, Alkrasha took the life force from monsters and move it to the plants and trees.

Allen slept for an entire day before feeling his body getting better. His injuries were also slowly healing.

--- ---

"Seeing that I’m still alive, it means that Alkrasha didn’t kill me..."

Allen woke up and realized what he had done.

He fought with the Insect Queen; Alkrasha and even though he had lost, he still managed to wound the infamous Insect Queen pretty badly. For now, he was satisfied with that result.

It means that he had moved forward. He had gotten stronger compared from before.

Allen looked around and noticed that he was in the same room when he just came here. 

I wasn't tied up?

He had expected to see a tattered cold hard bed, smelly room, thick iron bars, dimmed light and a guard with an unpleasant look on his face always glaring daggers at him… but he was mistaken.

“Rather than an ugly guard, it was a strange yet quite beautiful lady~” Allen murmured.

“What are you talking about, human?” the girl, or rather Thumbeline snorted as she looked at Allen.

“Ah there it is, a guard with an unpleasant stare~”

“I’m not your guard!”

Allen shrugged but he suddenly felt a stinging pain surging inside him.

"Aah......"

As he moaned, trying to escape the pain, his eyes wandered around the surrounding room.

“What am I doing here? You’re not going to put me behind bars?”

Thumbeline glared at Allen. “Believe me, you can’t imagine how much I really wanted to do that.”

“… …”

“And even that isn’t enough punishment for hurting my queen and destroying our home.”

“Guilty.” Allen smiled sourly and sat up on the bed.

“However, my queen is very soft-hearted and still ordered me to treat you nicely. Something I’m very reluctant to do.”

“You really hate me… do you?”

Thumbeline said that while gritting her teeth. The bitterness on Allen's face deepened.

Noticing Allen’s look, she changed her expression.

"... ... So are you alright?"

"Thanks for asking. I feel much better."

Allen got off the bed and made his way to the window. “Where’s Alkrasha?”

“Human, can you not address the queen so casually?” Thumbeline frowned. “Just because she’s nice to you doesn’t mean you have the privilege to call her with her name that intimately!”

“You can call me Allen, Nah, I prefer it that way.”

“… …”

“Thumbeline, did Alkrasha told you something about me?”

“?”

Allen remembered his original world.

The world he couldn’t save and left many important people behind.

He didn’t want it to happen again but he wasn’t a fool. No matter how strong he becomes, he won’t be able to return the world back to how it was. Being optimistic in this situation is something only fools do.

Even if he can’t return the world back to normal, he could still protect his family.

But just he alone isn’t enough!

“Before, you asked me why I know your name… right?”

Thumbeline frowned but she didn’t speak and just intently looked at the youth standing beside the window. The crimson rays of sunlight, passing through and illuminating his body, giving him a strange radiance.

“… simple. I came from a parallel world similar to this world. And I met Alkrasha and you there…”

He decided to be honest. With Thumbeline’s help, he might be able to persuade Alkrasha.

“… of course, we are no friends. In fact, the total opposite! We are bitter enemies. One that kills or be killed kind of relationship.”

Thumbeline listened to him with wide eyes.

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“Alkrasha was the Insect Queen who followed the Demon King and I’m one of those who bear the hope of humanity’s survival.” Allen narrated with a faint smile. He looked like he was just telling a story.

A story about a man who couldn't save anything from another world.

“… …”

“We had fought many times, several we fortunately won and most, we lost. You, Thumbeline were Alkrasha’s loyal servant and so you are often the one who leads an army to hunt us. We met many times before more than I could remember.

Though, because of one accidental event, your hate for the humans was changed and redirected to only me…”

“… …”

Allen turned around and faced Thumbeline. Her expression was showing her confusion.

“No matter where I go, you chased me and tried to kill me so many times. You even chased me to the Dark Woods that every creature was afraid to step on, just to find me.”

“So, you are my enemy then?” Thumbeline stood up and glared at Allen. She stared at him with narrowed eyes and the air around her distorting in a threatening manner.

“Yeah.” But Allen still kept his smile on. As if showing he wasn’t afraid of her, he leaned his back on the wall.

“… but didn’t I tell you before that we are already even.”

“? Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Thumbeline, you killed many of my people. My friends, my loved ones, and my fellow humans. You massacred all of them to the point that I had wished I could tear you to pieces with my own two hands.” Allen’s gaze turned icy cold.

The pressure around the room also multiplied, causing Thumbeline to take a few steps back. She felt a chill surging through her as though a demon had gripped her heart!

The eyes looking at her was so horrifying that she seems to have seen an illusion of her being torn apart by Allen. This gave her a shiver of disbelief, her entire body trembling.

An unspeakable fear had begun to overcome her.

“But…”

However, this terrifying atmosphere inside the room only lasted a few seconds before returning back to normal, giving Thumbeline a time to catch her breath.

Allen’s icy cold looked gradually softened.

“… all of it was offset by something you did. And because of it, my hatred towards you diminished and gradually disappeared over the time. That is why I told you, that we are even. Our bitter relationship should return to zero.”

“… What I did?”

“Do you know how you died in that world?” Allen suddenly asked her a very shocking question.

Thumbeline’s eyes widened in shock and her whole body slightly trembled. “I, I died…?”

She couldn’t believe what Allen said. She died…

Although it felt somewhat stupid as she was still alive right now but hearing that you died in some other world you didn’t know really felt funny yet somewhat eerie.

In other words, it was totally creepy!

“Yeah,” Allen nodded.

“H, how? Did, did you kill me?”

She expected for Allen to nod his head and admit that he killed her after saying all those things she did to him. Even she admits that she would totally chase the person who killed her family and friends and kill him herself.

What Allen did would be pretty reasonable.

However, contrary to her expectations, Allen shook his head and with a smile, he answered, “I did not, more like I wasn’t able to.”

“!?”

“… You were killed in the Dark Woods by a monster called [ Wendigo ] …”

“I was killed by a monster while I was chasing you?!” Thumbeline was shocked by this strange development. If that really happened, isn’t that a very shameful matter…?

But never would she expect about Allen’s next words.

“… After saving me.” Allen said in small voice.

“What?!”

“Thumbeline, you saved me.”

!!?

“In the Dark Woods, I was the one who met the [ Wendigo ] not you.

I fought with it and won but then a group of five [ Wendigo ] showed up and besieged me. I managed to kill another two but because of that, I was wounded pretty badly. I couldn’t move and could only wait for death.

But then you showed up.

You managed to kill them by sacrificing your life.”

“Say what?!” Thumbeline unconsciously raised her voice in shock. “I saved you? You mean I protected you and even sacrificed my life?”

It was absurd! Never in her life had she expected for this kind of development!

“Yeah, pretty weird if you ask me.” Allen nodded and moved away from his awkward gaze.

“I can’t believe it! You are lying! You are obviously lying! I would never sacrifice my life for a human! Besides, you just told me a while ago that I hate you to the point that I wanted to kill you! And then you said, I saved you resulting on my death? Impossible!”

Truly ridiculous! He was surely speaking nonsense!

But Allen just smiled naturally and nodded. “That was also what I thought at first. You really nailed it.”

“… …”

“… Those were the exact thoughts running through my head when I saw you appeared out of nowhere and fought those monsters. I even thought that it was all just an illusion, an image before I died. But the pain I was experiencing through at that time told me that it was no illusion.”

“… …”

“I couldn’t believe my own eyes, and could only watch you die with my hazy vision. Even until now, I could still remember that scene as if it was just yesterday.” Allen looked up above, his expression softening.

“… …”

“The sight of your beautiful wings and even your limbs being torn off one by one in front of me was unforgettable. But even with all those pain, you still desperately fought with those monsters and protected me, for who knows what reason."

"I was stupefied to the point that I couldn’t move.”

Why was this monster saving me?

Why did this monster protect me?

Didn’t you want me to die? Didn’t you want to kill me?

“Those thoughts messed my mind.”

“… …”

“… Up until now, I couldn’t understand you. Why did you do those things? Are you stupid? Why did you save me, an enemy? Didn’t you hate me?”

“… then a realization struck me at that time. In fact, this isn’t the only time you saved me.”

Thumbeline couldn’t believe Allen. Her expression was if someone sh*tted on her face. That was the expression she was wearing right now!

What was this development?!

“… I never thought hard about it because at those times I always hated you. But, in the Pacific, you also saved me from being swallowed by a Kraken by kicking me in the air causing my falling trajectory to shift away. At that time, I thought you just wanted to make sure that I would fall straight from the monster’s gaping mouth but missed. But maybe I was mistaken?”

“When we raid one of the demon king’s camp, you kicked me in the cliff… for what? I don’t know but when I managed to climb back, all I saw was the body of the demons and monsters along with the corpses of my companions. When I returned to my camp, I heard from the survivors from my group that it was all a trap made by the grand duke of the Demon Army; [ Witch Queen of the North ] and [ Halloween ].

There was also the time when I was captured by the necromancer [ Orbid ] with his undead army. You come to me and mercilessly stabbed my stomach with your sharp claws. At that time, as I was falling to the ground, my vision flickered in and out but I still heard you. Loud and clear."

‘This human will die after a while from my poison, there’s no use taking him.’

"... [ Orbid ] yelled at you as to why you did it and you answered, ‘He’s my sworn enemy. His death is my pleasure.’

[ Orbid ] conceded as you are the Insect Queen’s regent but when he wanted to make me one of his undead, you threatened him. Saying that I was your hateful enemy and if I live, you will kill me over and over again even if I become an undead. And so you don’t want to see me ever again.

When you left along with [ Orbid ] and I was left alone in that dark place, I just thought you missed because there’s no poison inside of me and I was able to live. I didn’t realize that you saved my life because I was blinded by my hate towards you.

There are still many events that ended with the same conclusion.

But thinking all those things again… I come to realize, didn’t you saved me over and over again.”

“… …”

“… I owe you a big debt but even so, you still killed many important people in my life so I just can’t feel any gratitude for you.

That is why; all our debts have been repaid.

We can call it even.”

Allen narrated his past accurately without any excess or deficiency as if he was telling some kind of fairytale.

Thumbeline’s mind turned blank. She took a few steps back before falling on a chair made of vines. She doesn’t know what’s what anymore.

Did she really do those things…?

She was like a girl who was told that she runs around in the school, naked when she was sleeping.

Was that really her?

That’s impossible! But if she did, why?!

She couldn’t believe that she would do all those things.

She looked at Allen with a dumb expression.

“You’re lying.” She said but it sounded like the question wasn’t just for Allen but was also for her.