Crossover: The Problematic Human of Arcadia — Shaper of Anime Worlds Chapter 246: The Battle of Speed

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"Good day, Lord Alec."

Alice put her elegant smile back on, dipping into a graceful curtsey.

But Alec imdiately took a subtle step back, replying coolly, "Drop that nauseating act, you venomous witch."

Alice's smile never wavered. She even feigned surprise.

"Oh my, how cruel. Aren't we friends?"

Alec let out a sharp laugh, eyes full of scorn.

"Friends? If the modern monarchy still had gallows, you'd be the first person I'd send up there."

"I'm flattered," Alice said with mock sweetness, her eyes glinting with ridicule.

"All those years I spent trying to cure your gynophobia, and look at you—it's only gotten worse."

"Shut it, witch." Alec snapped, flushing with irritation before quickly regaining composure.

He knew better than to lower his guard around this malicious woman. A single slip, and she'd have him dancing in the palm of her hand. The last thing he needed was another fabricated headline about him being gay spreading worldwide through Witenagemot. And this twisted witch would absolutely get a kick out of that.

The mory made his jaw tighten.

Years ago, Alice had publicly claid, "Alec doesn't like because he's gay."

The very next day, she arranged for journalists from the magical press to interview him, asking if he hated the White Hi-Miko.

Naturally, Alec confird it—of course he despised that conniving witch.

And just like that, her sche snapped shut. His own words had "proven" her statent true: "if Alec hates Alice, then Alec must be gay."

Even now, he still caught Witenagemot mbers passing around BL fanbooks pairing him with his subordinate, the Iceman. The humiliation had been unbearable.

'No. Stop thinking about it or I'll kill this woman on the spot. Focus. I ca here to see that new king.'

Suppressing his anger, Alec's voice turned cold. "I'm not here for you. Where's the new king?"

"Take a guess."

Alice tilted her head with a cute expression that made her words sting even more.

Alec narrowed his eyes. That attitude reeked of danger. But he had no fear. With his Godspeed Authority, he was confident he could handle anything.

"So it's true. You've pledged yourself to him." His tone was half mocking, half pitying.

"When I first heard the rumors, I thought the new king had lost his mind—or maybe you'd seduced him. But no… it seems he chose this willingly."

Alec couldn't help but marvel inwardly at this unseen Ryo.

'To take in such a venomous, shaless witch… how desperate must he be? Or just plain suicidal?'

Alice clasped her hands to her chest, cheeks flushed like a maiden in love. "What choice did I have? Compared to you, Ryo is far more charming. I'm just a girl in her pri, dreaming of her Prince Charming~"

"Girl in her pri? Prince Charming? Please. You're a washed-up hag." Alec sneered.

Alice's smile faltered, her face stiffening with indignation.

"I'm twenty-four! Twenty-four!" she emphasized loudly, as if that number alone proved her youth.

"Say whatever makes you happy, old hag," Alec shot back mockingly.

Ignoring her sputtering outrage, he spoke with icy calm. "Enough gas. Bring out the new king. You won't outmaneuver ."

Then he paused, voice dropping lower.

"Before I entered this temple, I already unleashed my Labyrinth authority. From the start, the scales of victory have tilted toward ."

His eyes glead with contempt as he looked her over.

"You'd never guess it, would you? The so-called Black Prince, reaching into the ordinary world to control Britain itself."

He sneered.

"Let be clear. I've already bent most of those greedy parliantarians to my will. Even the royals—I've made my arrangents. That unnaturally long-lived queen has co to terms with . The ga's no longer yours to play, Witch."

For once, Alice dropped the sarcasm. Her voice was calm, her face composed.

"To enslave an entire nation in pursuit of the Holy Grail… you truly are beyond reason, Alec."

The Holy Grail—a legendary chalice from ancient tis, it had lured n to ruin, sparking disaster after disaster.

Alec's own father had chased it. He'd lost his wife to the obsession, raised Alec alone, and died for it.

That legacy had scarred Alec deeply, leaving him a self-righteous misanthrope, crippled by his fear of won.

But now his expression was unreadable. Two decades of god-slaying had tempered him too much for Alice's words to shake him.

"The Holy Grail is my dream. And to chase it, nothing is more efficient than harnessing the power of a nation."

His eyes turned to ice.

"Where is the new king? Tell . You aren't qualified to negotiate with ."

"Oh?" Alice arched a brow in mock surprise. "So you an to negotiate with Ryo Yagami?"

Expected yet unexpected. Alice hadn't thought Alec, already knee-deep in a coup, would actually want a parley.

But it made sense. His only true goal had always been the Grail.

The Royal Arsenal? rely a ans to expand his search. Seizing a country? Just another tool.

And another god-slayer king might very well share that obsession.

A deal was possible. Any clash would only co after the Grail was found.

Her lips curved, amusent flickering in her eyes. She lifted her skirts and dipped into a graceful curtsey.

"My lord, hasn't he been standing right behind you this whole ti?"

Alec's pupils blew wide. He whipped around—

And there, less than a foot away, stood Ryo.

"How—?!"

In shock, Alec triggered his authority, Black Lightning. His body shifted into pure energy, moving faster than the eye could follow. His first Authority, taken from the fallen angel Ramiel, the fallen angel of visions and lightning.

In an instant, he reappeared on the outskirts of Ro.

From London to Ro—in less than twenty seconds by his perception.

As he caught his breath, Alec laughed at himself, shaken.

"Nearly gave a heart attack, that new kin…"

But then he froze.

A hand rested casually on his shoulder. His heartbeat roared like a drum.

'No way. He caught up to ? At my speed?!'

Alec twisted, slipping free in a burst of lightning. His body blurred, becoming light itself.

And then Ryo's voice cut through the air, impossibly clear, impossibly fast—

"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

Alec's eyes widened. He saw Ryo's leg turn into pure radiance.

Speed of light?

For once, Alec was stunned speechless.

A golden brilliance swallowed him whole.

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