As Zoe ran towards Roman, who was now looking weary, He tried to stop her by using the spell that allowed him to surf on stones. He was raising spear traps from the stone floor, raising and lowering the ground that Zoe was running on.
Zoe understood that Roman had a card that manipulated rocks, but there was no place for her to escape the spell on this ground. Even though she realized that she couldn't gain the upper hand in ranged or melee combat against Roman, she knew she couldn't give up.
Although Zoe dodged spears that Roman pulled from the ground thanks to her agility, she couldn't get close to her opponent. She thought of a solution, but no idea came to mind. However, she understood very well that her opponent was playing with her.
Roman spoke with a somewhat bored expression on his face, “Come on, don't you think it went long enough? As I said, I just want to talk, Zoe. You know I could kill you instantly if I wanted to."
Angered that her opponent was looking down on her so much, the blue-haired SorCyber was still trying to break through the obstacles. Roman was now building walls in front of Zoe, but she was still jumping over them. She was countering the spears that sprang from the ground with her Mantis Blades. Still unable to get close to her opponent, Zoe glanced around and realized that almost all of Araf's surface had changed.
Realizing that he couldn't get Zoe to talk this way, Roman had lost his patience. "Well then, you asked for it," said Roman, bending down and placing both hands on the stone floor.
Realizing that a dangerous attack was coming, Zoe sent Pinky toward Roman to stop him. Yet, he stopped the katana with stone spears formed from the ground. Continuing to run, Zoe gradually realized that Roman was out of her sight. The ground that should have been flat was turning into a pit.
Roman had cast a spell that turned the whole square into a giant pit. "You forced me to do this," said Roman, looking down at Zoe who was at the bottom of the pit. He stretched out his hands and began to close them slowly.
Finding herself in a death trap, Zoe immediately activated her spider legs and tried to climb, but the ground was closing in too quickly. Her effort was in vain, even as she dug into the closing ground with her Mantis Blades. No matter how hard she tried to climb, Zoe was trapped. Only her head was left outside on the rapidly closing ground. She could feel her whole body being crushed.
Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand and exhaling, Roman smiled. He sat cross-legged next to Zoe's head, which is now on the floor. “I guess that will calm you down,” he said in a sincere voice. Roman's mood had changed so quickly that Zoe couldn't believe that this man had killed the entire city.
"I'm sorry," Roman said in a friendly tone, pointing his hand at Zoe's head. "I didn't want it to be like this. But you were truly worthy of your name. At least you didn't lose your ambition in the Abyss. With two cards in your hand, you forced me to use five cards.”
"What do you want?" said Zoe in a gruff voice. She was pretty unhappy about losing the fight anyway, and it hurt her pride to listen to her enemy brag. “Do whatever you want to do to me, but don't touch Lucy and the others,” she pleaded.
While Roman was laughing out loud, he was beating the ground with his hand. He found what Zoe said to be hilarious. “Hey, do you think you can ask for something in this condition? You lost the fight. And why do you think I would hurt Lucy?"
“Look at the state of this city. You killed all the people here! You burned down the whole city. What else can I think of?" said Zoe, finding Roman's question rather silly. This man's really nuts, she thought.
"Hey! They attacked first. All I did was glide down here and ask where I could find Lucy. Shouldn't I have defended myself? Besides, they were supposed to be dead when they were thrown here.” Roman calmly explained why he had murdered the entire city.
The people of Araf might have attacked him, Zoe thought, because they did indeed see a SorCyber. But that didn't justify Roman's actions. “You could have flown away. You didn't have to kill everyone, you bastard," snapped Zoe. “And who are you? Why are you looking for Lucy? Why did you come here? Why now?" Zoe had suddenly poured all the questions into her mind.
“As I said, they were supposed to be dead anyway. No one should be living here except Lucy. As for your other questions…” Roman said, stretching. “I told you when we met, I'm Roman Godfrey. You can't be from Rox City and not recognize me. You didn't even recognize your own nickname, though. Are you okay? Did you lose your memory or something?"
Zoe realized at this stage that it was pointless to try to hide it. “Yes, it could be said so,” she said reluctantly.
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Roman started laughing out loud again. “You have lost your memory, but you still act worthy of your glory! You tried to kill me, a nobleman. You are an interesting person, Zoe. I wanted to meet you up too, but circumstances did not allow it.”
"You didn't answer my other questions," said Zoe, not enjoying the way Roman was laughing at her.
Roman burst into laughter again. He punched the ground and couldn't help himself from laughing for a while. Wiping the tears from his eyes when his laughter was over, the red-haired noble said, “You are indeed an interesting person. Your body is buried in the ground and you still have this attitude. I like you, I hope I won't have to kill you."
"I've already died once," Zoe said, her voice very rigid and dull. She suddenly got quiet, and really tried to accept her defeat.
Noticing this change in her, Roman also suddenly became serious. It felt unpleasant for him to thoroughly crush someone he had already beaten. “As for your questions…” he began. “This is a place that belongs to my family. I've detected magical energy coming out of the Abyss lately, and I wondered if my aunt finally got the gifts I sent her. But despite the magical energy coming in for days, no one came up from here. I got curious and jumped down. This is it."
“Aunt?” said Zoe, surprised. “Lucy is your aunt? Is Lucy a Godfrey?”
“Yeah, why are you surprised? Is she not noble enough for you? Didn't your Noble Slayer instincts tell you to kill her?" grinned Roman.
“Why is Lucy here, then? You said this place belongs to you and she's a Godfrey? Were you holding her captive here?" Zoe was growing angrier. This bastard destroyed the city Lucy built with her bare hands. Now, he stood in front of me, arrogantly claiming his family put her there.
"It wouldn't be right for me to say that," he said simply. "Besides, I'm trying to get her out of here." Then Roman stood up as if he suddenly had an idea. He shook his head and straightened his outfit. "Don't go anywhere, I'm coming back soon," he said, smiling at Zoe. He leaped forward and surfed over the stones, disappearing through the burning houses.
Trapped, Zoe thought about how to get out of there, but couldn't find a solution. It doesn't look like he's going to hurt Lucy, but I hope he doesn't do anything to Flo and Brad, she thought. No matter how much she worried about the others, the fact that there was nothing she could do to save them made her feel utterly helpless.
She tried to look around, but all she saw were the city's ruins and fire. She tried to hear something, but all she heard was the crackling of the fire. Zoe was worried, feeling like she was lying at the bottom of the Abyss again. What if this Roman guy doesn't come back… It would have been better if he had killed me… The pain in her chest reminded itself to her once again. It felt good for Zoe to feel this pain. Because it had distracted her from these dark thoughts.
She tried to remember what Roman had said. He referred to me as the "Noble Slayer" and stated that in the past he would have been afraid to face me. He added that it would be a shame if I died after being thrown here. This man knew I was thrown here. Was my Legendary card the reason he was afraid of facing me in the past? Hadrian was also clearly frightened when he saw me. Exactly what kind of card did I have? More importantly, this Roman guy knows that I was thrown here and that I no longer have my card…
As things started to fall into place in her head, Zoe kept thinking about what Roman and Hadrian had said. Hadrian was surprised that Cain had thrown me here with my CyberDeck and said he was going to get in trouble with the Godfreys. Roman, a Godfrey, said he wondered if his aunt had received the gifts he sent her. Cain must have made a deal with Roman before he threw me in here.
Realizing all this, Zoe was not angry with Roman for some reason. Her anger was directed entirely at Cain. Why did Cain, my supposed sidekick, do this to me? I can't believe he did it just for one card. If that were the case, the question still lingering in my mind would not be "Why did you push me, Cain?" There has to be more to the story. There has to be more.
Zoe's train of thought was broken by a loud noise. As far as she could see from the area illuminated by the fire, a large cloud of dust was approaching her, making very loud noises. Zoe was relieved. Even if I'm going to die, I will, but whatever happens, happens, she thought.
The dust cloud approaching the now devastated Araf was a large boulder. In front of this sled-like boulder, Roman Godfrey was standing with the expression of a ship's captain. He was definitely a man who liked extravagance. Behind Roman sat Brad, Lucy, and Flo.
The sled stopped in front of Zoe, scattering dust. Roman was the first to jump down from the boulder. The others followed him. Seeing that Brad, Lucy, and Flo were all alive, Zoe was somewhat relieved.
It was Roman who broke the silence. He clapped his hands together and began to speak. “Now I have to decide what we should do.” He walked up to Lucy, "No matter what I do, aunty seems determined not to break her vow." He suddenly left Lucy's side and stepped between Brad and Flo. He threw his arms around their shoulders, “I think maybe if your life is at stake she will work with my plan.”
Lucy's eyes filled with fire when she heard this. Realizing this, Roman immediately took a step back. "Hey! I'm kidding aunty, I know you love these people. Besides, I came here to make you my ally. I wouldn't want you as my enemy… It's already complicated enough up there.”
“Stop being a brat, Roman!” cried, Lucy. “How are you going to explain to your father what you did here? Or where will you hide when I finally go up?”
“Okay calm down, I was still joking. But I'm not going to go back empty-handed. My time is very valuable.” Roman continued to speak arrogantly when he was interrupted.
“I will come with you. Just leave these people alone.” It was Zoe who spoke. Her voice was clear and unwavering. Zoe's eyes were completely fixed on Roman. Her gaze was determined and persistent.
Lucy rushed forward fiercely. “No, Zoe, you don't know what you're getting into…” she was saying when Roman disrupted.
“Interesting…” Roman continued, scratching his chin with one hand. “Actually, Noble Slayer, you can really do the trick.” Reactivating his card, Roman controlled his magic with his hands and pulled Zoe out of the pit. “Besides, I didn't feel like killing you… It would be a real shame.”
Freed at last, Zoe was relieved. As much as she wanted to attack Roman, she also understood that it would lead to slaughter rather than resolution. After coming out of the pit, she felt the need to move a little. Soon after, she turned to Roman and spoke.
"I'll do whatever you want." She looked at Lucy and continue "I'll accept whatever chaos you're going to get me into." Then she looked at Brad and Flo, “Yet, I have one condition. You will not harm anyone."
Lucy tried to intervene again, but this time Zoe stopped her. Seeing Zoe's determination as well, Roman nodded and spoke. "Alright, I won't. Then let's get to work right away. We have a lot of work to do together, Zoe The Noble Slayer!” He guffawed.