Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

”You can make him your toy later.” The spatial user said, still recovering. ”We need to find out the situation outside first and then act accordingly. We wasted more than enough time as it is.”

”Then, let me out first,” the woman said, smiling as she stood, her body slowly turning invisible. ”Be ready to pull me back if anything goes wrong.”

”Just don’t take too long. I can’t hold this place open forever.”

”Relax.” Her voice echoed from the air where she had been standing. ”I’ll be quick.”

”...3, 2, 1.”

The woman vanished. The spatial user watched the empty space where she had been for a moment, then let out another heavy breath and reached into his storage ring. He pulled out a small vial and downed it in one go.

’Another one.’

He had lost count of how many he had consumed during the fight. More than ten, at least. His ability was indeed powerful, but its consumption rate was equally brutal. Maintaining the Void Arena for that long had drained him to the edge of his reserves. If the fight had gone on any longer, he would have collapsed from mana exhaustion before the target did.

After wiping his mouth, his eyes drifted over to the frozen corpse lying on the stone floor a short distance away, and a cold sweat broke out across his back.

’...If I had been a second late, that would have been me.’

A raspy, manic chuckle escaped his throat. ”...Keke~”

Then, his gaze shifted to the bloodied target lying not far away.

’To think a mere 4th Circle could push us into such a mess...’

It felt unreal. But the guy was the one who beat the Hollow Pair, so it fit. Heck, even with a coordinated ambush and a pocket dimension at their disposal, they had still lost one of their own just to bring him down. Not that he gave a damn about the dead guy anyway. The idiot was just a weak newcomer who failed to finish off the target in time, so it was his own fault. At least his death took out the target’s surprise attack and trump card.

He sighed and teleported beside the bound body.

Leaning in close, he narrowed his eyes at jagged lacerations slowly stitching themselves back together, the bleeding slowing with each passing second.

”His regeneration is indeed fucking amazing...” he muttered, leaning in to inspect the flesh even more closely. ”If only I could get him as my test subject. The things I could learn from a body like this...”

He reached out and grabbed Soren’s chin, tilting his head from side to side to get a better look at the healing wounds.

However, his expression darkened as he sensed the woman calling for him from outside. He sighed again and closed his eyes, connecting with the external coordinate and pulling her back in.

A moment passed, and the woman began to materialize beside them. At that exact second, a bloodied hand shot out from the chains and locked onto the spatial user’s hand and then-

BOOOOM-!

”Fuc—!”

The curse died in his throat as the explosion consumed him. Kinetic force and frost erupted in every direction, tearing through his body before he could even register the pain. His grip on the space snapped instantly, and the domain broke apart, the surrounding arena crumbling into nothing as his vision cut to total black.

”...”

───────

”...”

”...Urgh...”

Soren groaned and forced himself upright. His head pounded, a sharp ache throbbing behind his eyes, and his senses were in disarray. The explosion had hit him harder than he’d expected. His ears rang, his vision blurred, and every nerve in his body screamed in protest. However, his gamble had paid off. His enemies were dead, and he had survived.

”Huff...”

Exhaling deeply, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a couple of potions, downing them one after another. The healing energy spread through his body, dulling the pain and slowly clearing the fog in his mind. With his own regeneration and abilities, he didn’t have to wait long to start thinking clearly again.

”Huff...”

With another exhale, he blinked away the blur in his vision and surveyed the scene. He was back on the paved street right outside their hotel. The ground was littered with fragments of frost and remnants of chaotic mana, traces of the collapsed void arena and the explosion that had ended it.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his head.

’Master! You’re back!’

’Yes...’ Soren replied. ’How is the situation?’

’I’m fighting with the emperor in our domains,’ Malakor quickly explained. ’I have left my clones to protect the lady but-’

’It’s ok, I will take it from here.’ Soren replied, forcing himself to stand up. ’Just he-’

’Master, don’t worry about her,’ Malakor added immediately. ’She was rescued earlier. Reinforcements from the empire had already arrived before the intruder could get inside.’

Soren fell silent. Sitting back, he closed his eyes and extended his perception outward to sweep the nearby hotel. Ethea was still inside the bedroom, safe and sound. Right outside the building, however, several powerful figures stood guard, their mana flares locking down the perimeter.

’...’ Soren’s brows furrowed as he considered using the Guardian’s Mark to teleport directly to Ethea’s side, but he stopped himself after a moment’s thought.

Besides, he’d kept part of his focus on Ethea’s condition throughout the ordeal, so he knew she wasn’t in immediate danger. He had held off using it inside the Void Arena for the same reason. Well, even if he used it, the spatial user would likely have pulled him right back in, wasting his single escape card. Keeping it in reserve was the smarter move in case things went south again.

”...Mr. Everly?”

”...” Soren opened his eyes and saw a familiar figure walking toward him. It was Princess Roya’s personal guard, the same woman who had thanked him after the Bagdad incident. ’So it was her...’

”Greetings, Knight Aya.” He tried to get back to his feet, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. His legs gave way, and he nearly fell back to the ground.

Aya moved quickly, vanishing for a split second before appearing right beside him. She caught his shoulder and helped him stay upright, her gaze scanning the deep gashes across his skin and the blood coating his clothes. ”Mr. Everly, let me take you to a healer.”

”N-No...”