"I’ve gotten pretty used to Earth’s civilization now,” Illyna muttered to herself.
She remembered the first time she hade to Earth—she had been shocked at how the people wore incredibly stylish yet surprisingly practical clothes, unlike Tionis. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed on their behalf. She was astonished at how the culture and technology on Earth aplished such feats without magic.
Still, human nature was fickle, and people always adapted.
By now, she had be so ustomed to the civilization on Earth that, while she still couldn’t bring herself to wear clothing that exposed her calves or ankles, she had no trouble wearingfortable pants.
“<em>Ah!</em> It’s nice to meet you! My name’s Si-Woo!”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Illyna.”
The man standing in front of her introduced himself awkwardly, fidgeting like someone on a blind date. Illyna greeted him with a calm expression.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Illyna wasn’t the type to go out of her way to break the silence, unless it was with Davey. Si-Woo, on the other hand, was frozen for an entirely different reason. “Shall we grab a coffee or something?”
“<em>Oh,</em> that sounds great! It’s on me!”
“No, that’s okay. One freeloader is enough.”
“<em>Uh…?</em>”
“I was just talking to myself, don’t worry about it.”
“<em>Ah… </em>Alright.”
Watching Si-Woo follow her with a slightly forlorn face, Illyna let out a short sigh.
“It’s really nice to see you again. Things have been chaotic sincest time.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
His response was straightforward.
“As you know, youpletely destroyed me during the amateur match.”
Illyna gave him a faint, wry smile.
“That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry about that.”
“<em>Oh,</em> no! You don’t need to apologize! I wasn’t good enough, and you turned out to be far more incredible than I could’ve expected. You wouldn’t believe how much of a buzz it created online. Even pro gamers on League’s stream tried to replicate you and failed miserably,” he said whileughing lightly. “But you haven’t logged in even once since then…”
“<em>Ah,</em> well, I achieved my goal, so I didn’t see much point in continuing.”
“Your goal?”
“A rematch after that casual defeat before.”
Illyna paused to savor her coffee, but she winced slightly. She quietly stuck out her tongue, grimacing.
“<em>Ugh,</em> It’s bitter…”
Seeing that, Si-Woo lowered his head and chuckled.
“W-Why are youughing?”
“No reason. It’s just… You’re really cute, Illyna.”
“…”
Illyna stared at him nkly before responding with a simple, “Thank you.”
He couldn’t help but sigh at her curt reply.
“You know, it’s a real shame. If you weren’t married, I would’ve made a move.”
“If you’re going to keep saying things like that, I’d like to end this conversation here.”
“No, no, forget I said anything. It’d be a lie to say that I don’t have feelings for you, but I’m not reckless enough to go after someone who’s already married,” he said all flustered, quickly waving his hands in denial. ????ΒЕS
Then after a moment of silence, he continued the conversation.
“The truth is, there’s something I wanted to confirm,” he said with a bitter smile. “People call me things like World Champion, Emperor of the Top, or The Legend—I have many titles.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that you’re quite impressive.”
If he was boasting, she could dismiss it as arrogance. But the man in front of her wasn’t like that.
“But you know, nobody really understands the burden I carry having to live up to those names.”
Illyna looked at him in silence, understanding exactly what he meant. In fact, she understood too well.
The more titles one had, the heavier the pressure became.
“I became exhausted, having to crush every yer and maintain my ce at the top. I had to keep delivering performances that never disappointed anyone.”
There was a reason people said that defending a championship was harder than winning one.
In that sense, Illyna couldn’t help but admire Davey.
Despite the immense reputation he carried, he never let down his defenses—not even to Illyna herself.
Her curiosity deepened.
“Why? Why go to such lengths to hold onto that position?”
“Have you ever had countless people gather just to see you, Illyna?”
“…”
“When I look at those people… Even if I want to stop, I can’t. It’s not just about my own glory anymore… I’ve be something more to them,rger than life. And because of that, I only grew ever more exhausted.”
It was an interesting perspective. She wondered if Davey felt the same.
“Meeting you was like someone blocking my life’s path with a massive boulder. For the first time in a long while, I felt something new,” he said while smiling faintly. “I was having fun again.”
“…”
The Sword Princess.
Illyna found his story eerily simr to her own.
Though her goals had been utterly shattered after bing entangled with Davey, there was no guarantee others would meet the same fate.
“That’s why I asked to meet you.”
“Through Yu-Na?”
“Yes. It was partly by chance, but the moment I saw your photo, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. You’re the only person who might help me grow and rediscover what I felt back then. After all, our ystyles are very simr.”
It was such a simple and absurd reason.
The fact that a professional gamer took personal time just to meet an amateur was amusing on its own.
"What am I supposed to do to help you?"
"Nothing tooplicated—just y three matches with me. I''ll make sure topensate you for it."
"Just three matches?"
"Yes. The first match is to find the ways to break through the wall I’ve hit,” he exined. "The second is as a yer facing another yer. I want to experience that thrill I felt before."
He gently smiled.
"And the third?"
"I may look calm now, but I’m still known as the Emperor of the Top Lane among pro gamers. I can’t just let a loss go unanswered. The final round is for a rematch."
A rematch with the world’s best topner—although it could sound ridiculous to others, he had a refreshing smile on his face nheless.
"Besides, it’s not every day I get the chance to y with such a charming person. If there’s a goalkeeper at the goal, sometimes you have to shoot for the gaps."
"<em>Pfft</em>, you’re quite an entertaining person."
"<em>Haha</em>, I’m rambling. Must be because I’m nervous."
Illyna didn’t need long to decide. She quietly observed him with a sense of sympathy and was about to nod in agreement when—
<em>Boom!!</em>
Without warning, a massive shockwave erupted around them.
To someone who controlled mana, it was a weak and ineffective wave. But for ordinary humans and the objects around them, it was a different story.
With a loud crash, ss shattered as people around them were knocked to the ground.
Illyna stared in shock as Si-Woo, who had been speaking cheerfully just moments ago, staggered like he’d been shot. She quickly stood up and rushed to his side, grabbing him.
"Si-Woo? Si-Woo! Stay with me!"
She checked for signs of consciousness, but there was only silence.
"He’s not critically injured, but…"
<em>‘What a relief.’</em>
Illyna had instinctively released mana in that brief moment and shielded him. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent the shards of broken ss from grazing his eye.
"Who the hell…?"
Earth was a rtively peaceful dimension. To be exact, this part of Korea was known for its exceptional safety. The odds of being attacked while leisurely drinking coffee were close to none.
<em>Crack…</em>
Illyna’s expression turned icy as she directed her gaze toward the cause of the chaos.
"It doesn’t seem like it was a mana-based attack.”
Even if she’d been off guard, there was no way she wouldn’t have sensed a disturbance in mana flow. But this manifestation was unnaturally seamless.
<em>Snap! Crackle!</em>
The rift gradually expanded as something began to emerge from it.
The figure was humanoid, but only in shape. It was covered in flickering yellow mes and had no human features—its face was smooth and solid, like an egg. Instead of eyes or a mouth, its face wasposed of seven stars spread out in a pattern resembling adle.
<em>Zzing…</em>
The figure, moving jerkily like a zombie, turned toward Illyna and emitted a strange noise.
<em>p!!</em>
It unfurled wings made of light, radiating immense power.
"You’re the one behind this?”
The energy it was emanating was pure vitality. It was unmistakably the vitality from the moon Davey had created in the Spirit World, Thanatos.
However, there was also something disturbingly alien about it.
<em>Thud… Thud…</em>
The figure walked toward Illyna, while she remained silent.
<em>Whoosh!!</em>
Before she could consider the situation further, its wings extended like chains, wrapping around her neck and limbs to immobilize her.
"You’re not trying to kill me?"
The figure remained silent at her question. Instead, it attempted to drag her beyond the rift. By now, Illyna had already returned to her usual arrogant demeanor.
She smirked.
"Whatever is going on, you need me for something, don’t you?"
The creature flinched—not at her words, but at the overwhelming surge of mana erupting from her body.
"I remember Davey mentioning something before. He said there are still fools chasing empty dreams in this ce where the Illuminati and Malicious Spirits have already fallen."
<em>Slice!!</em>
In an instant, she had cut the chain-like wings.
"That’s you, isn’t it?" N?v(el)B\\jnn
Stretching her arm to the side, a burst of light appeared in her hand, slowly taking the form of a massive silver greatsword as tall as she was.
Despite its size, Illyna lifted it effortlessly. She pointed the gleaming edge of Caldeiras toward the figure.
<em>ng!! </em>
The figureunched its attack in a sh. Its speed was remarkable, and the sheer force of its strikes was enough to make even master-level opponents flinch.
lllyna simply took a single step forward, untroubled.
"You don’t even know who you’re dealing with."
<strong>[Continuum-Attacking de]</strong>
<strong>[Sky Rend]</strong>
A strange sound, unlike anything heard before, echoed through the air as space split vertically like a crevasse opening midair. At the same time, an immense force erupted from the rift, ripping apart the monstrous figure and pulling it in.
It struggled to resist the pull from the rift, but it didn’tst long. Within moments, it was torn apart and disappearedpletely.
"If you really knew who I was, you wouldn’t havee at me so carelessly."
After subduing the figure in an instant, Illyna retracted her sword and quickly ran back to Si-Woo, still on the ground.
<em>Wee-oo</em>!<em> Wee-oo</em>!
Sirens red in the distance as emergency vehicles approached. Illyna hesitated briefly before slinging Si-Woo over her shoulder like a sack and standing up.
The injuries of the others weren’t severe—mostly minor bruises and shock. She figured they’d recover quickly. But Si-Woo, who had been right next to the epicenter of the explosion, was a different story.
Although his life wasn’t in immediate danger, it was clear he would suffer serious residual injuries if he didn’t get medical attention soon.
Illyna hurried out of the coffee shop—she knew there was no benefit in staying and drawing attention to herself. Fortunately, the surveince cameras had been disrupted during the initial explosion.
Regardless of who Si-Woo was, she couldn’t just stand by and let him die.
Once she managed to get clear of the scene, she spotted Davey who hade to meet her.
"Davey! He’s seriously injured!"
"Hand him over."
Davey found the whole scene of her small frame carrying Si-Woo quite amusing, and let out a short sigh. He took Si-Woo from her, slung him over his own shoulder, and effortlessly tore open space.
"Did you see who or what caused this?"
"It’s too unnatural to be a natural phenomenon. Other than that, I couldn’t detect anything unusual."
Even with her sensitivity to mana, Illyna couldn’t possibly detect every single individual in such a crowded area. At best, she could sense faint murderousness if it was directed at her.
"I see."
"However, the figure I fought—it looked simr to the one you mentioned before. The one that hatched from the egg. It seemed weaker, but still simr."
The creature that emerged from the egg—the being that was called a god that wielded the power of the moon. Though it was far too weak to be considered a god, it possessed power equivalent to cmity for humans.
"I’ll need to have a serious talk with Kain and Frelia about this…"
Back at the vi, everyone turned to them with rmed expressions. Ignoring themotion, Daveyid the bloodied Si-Woo on a bed and pped his hands, activating his holy power.
<strong>[8th Level Holy Magic]</strong>
<strong>[High Recovery.]</strong>
<em>Vvoom…</em>
Pure white feathers drifted down as the injuries began to heal one by one.
"Isn’t that Si-Woo, the pro gamer? What the heck happened?"
Hyun-Ah asked, pointing out the window at a nearby truck. On its side was an advertisement featuring Si-Woo holding a cosmetic product, grinning yfully. Although it was surprising to see the man from the advertisement lying injured before her, she quicklyposed herself.
After all, no pro gamer’s status couldpare to her own—a princess of the Sacred Group international conglomerate, often called the Princess of Sacred.
"There seems to have been a monster incident. He got caught in the explosion and was swept up in the aftermath."
"But… the detection rms didn’t even go off," their uncle said. He had been preparing to leave, but decided to stay after what happened.
"That’s what we need to investigate now," Davey answered calmly. "But I believe it went undetected because of theck of waves.”
"What do you mean?"
"If there had been any mana waves, this wouldn’t have happened. Illyna would’ve picked up on it immediately and acted ordingly."
Illyna nodded. "Exactly. There was no mana wave at all—it just erupted out of nowhere, like a sudden explosion."
She had mastered the Continuum-Attacking de, and with Davey’s expertise in space and the flow of time, they would have immediately detected any disruptions.
<em>‘This means it wasn’t a time issue… There simply weren’t any warning signs…’</em>
Davey couldn’t help but wonder if this was all even possible to begin with.
"<em>Ugh…</em>"
At that moment, Si-Woo stirred and slowly opened his eyes.
He looked around, disoriented.
"Hey! You''re finally awake."
Illyna grabbed his arm, shouting urgently. He flinched.
"I-Illyna?"
"Yes, it’s me. You were almost in serious trouble. Let me—"
"Step aside for a moment," Davey interrupted.
Illyna looked at Davey with curious eyes, but eventually moved aside. He stepped forward and looked directly at Si-Woo.
"Tell me, how many fingers do you see?"
"<em>Huh</em>? <em>Um…</em> I can’t really… I can’t open my eyes properly."
Hearing that, Illyna turned to Davey with a surprised face.
"Well… This is unusual."
"What do you mean?"
"There are only two things recovery magic can’t fix: something that’spletely dead, and something that’spletely fine."
Princess Latiana had her eyespletely necrotized. One would think it an easy fix, since recovery magic could restore and regenerate severed limbs like no problem.
“But this isn’t a matter of how strong the magic is—his brain’s being tricked. It’s likely that the vitality within the shockwave affected him somehow. It’s rare, but it happens. That yellow bald figure you fought must have caused it when it appeared."
Davey couldn’t help but think about what terrible luck the man in front of him had.
"Don’t worry. You’ll be back to normal in about two weeks at the most."
"T-Two weeks?! What do you mean?! Are you saying… I’m blind?!"
"It’s only temporary."
"Blind?! I’m blind?! This can’t be happening! No, no, no! This is impossible!!"
Watching Si-Woo copse in despair, crying miserably, Illyna nced at Davey with a hint of guilt. It wasn’t technically her fault, but she seemed to feel some responsibility for being present during the incident.
"Can’t you do something about it?"
"He’ll recover naturally with time—the treatment is done. I could speed up the process, but it’s risky when we don’t know exactly who or what caused this."
The victim’s wailing only grew louder. Davey, who had been silently observing, gave a chilling smirk.
"Hey."
"No… No! The World Championship ising up! If I try to y like… like this…!”
Davey remembered hearing rumors that the amateur tournament Al Hajat hosted was to attract pro yers looking to warm up before the real main event. With the championship so close, the team’s main yer losing his sight was a catastrophe for Team Vasirian.
Illyna, recalling how Si-Woo had steadfastly carried the weight of being called the best in the world, opened her mouth to say something to him. But before she could, Davey spoke first with a wicked smile on his face.
"There’s a way to treat you immediately. Want to try it?"
Si-Woo, who had been groaning with his hands covering his eyes, shot upright.
"I’ll do it!”
"Wee aboard."
As Davey grinned, Rinne leaned over and whispered to Aeria.
"Master Davey had been struggling recently to find test subjects for his experiments. Rinne evaluates his ruthless brilliance highly."
<em>Whoosh! Thwack! </em>
He threw a cushion toward Rinne, nailing her right in the face. She toppled backward from her seated position, ending up sprawled t on the floor with a dazed expression.
Davey gestured for silence, and Rinne squinted in response.
"But Davey, are you sure you don’t need to investigate further? This doesn’t seem like a simple natural phenomenon to me," Perserque said.
The fact that the figure aimed to capture rather than kill Illyna, coupled with the simrity to the egg-born monster from the past—which had ties to humans—pointed to a singr culprit.
"Could it be remnants of the Illuminati…?" she asked cautiously.
Davey dismissed the idea with confidence.
"No, not them. It’s just someone whose greed got the better of them."
He was unusually certain.
"What makes you so sure?" Illyna asked, her curiosity piqued.
Davey pointed at her.
"Because of you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. They don’t know enough about you."
Perserque and Illyna exchanged confused nces, tilting their heads.
"Looks like the ones Frelia mentioned are the ones behind this.”<blockquote>
ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook''s Thoughts
<strong>Editorb’s Thoughts</strong>
Pls readers, if you have the thought that you’d want to pursue a rtionship with a girl if she weren’t married, do both of you a favor and keep it to yourself ???? Telling it to her face is WILD.
Temporarily losing sight isn’t TOO bad, though it’s absolutely brutal when it first happens. When I was a kid in Kindergarten I was hit in the head by a kickball that knocked me on my ass, and the back of my head mmed against the pavement. From what I was told, that rattled my brain so hard that my visual cortex got super swollen, so I went blind for a few days. I must have peed on the unopened toilet seat at least half a dozen times trying to navigate without sight lmao</blockquote>
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!